By your side Forever
by Katchan00
Summary: .Post Movie. After two years of absence, Roy returns to Central in time to save the city. Thrown together once again in life, he and Riza find themselves falling in love all over again. Discontinued
1. Chapter 1

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

_Unfortunately, this was long ago abandoned, and I apologize for that. As the manga continued to divert further and further from the original anime, I found myself liking the auxiliary plot that the anime created (and that this was based on) less and less. With quite a bit of the story unable to be bridged over to the "true" timeline that was appealing to me more with each chapter, it just seemed time to let this die. -K  
_

* * *

**By your side Forever**

Surrounded by gunshots and the zombie-like suits of armor slowly bearing down upon her and her comrades as the city was awash with explosions and destruction, all Riza Hawkeye could hear was the roaring of her blood in her ears as she lined up another shot and fired, taking down yet another suit with her precision sniping. As she ejected the cartridge from her rifle, she vaguely registered Havoc's voice swearing to Breda amongst the sounds of ricocheting bullets and the far-off screams of the frightened denizens of Central fleeing for their lives.

Just as she was lining up for another shot, she heard Armstrong let out a fierce call to her right and caught motion out of her peripheral vision, partly blocked by her helmet. She let her eyes stray for but a moment, her heart clenching as she heard him mention alchemy and returning to its normal hurried state as she saw his powerful arms dig into the ground, knowing that he would be fine and that his stone alchemy would buy them a few more moments of safety, for now. Her eyes were long gone from him by the time he vaulted over the sandbags once more, this time to safety, already fixed onto her next target.

With the familiar slide of her finger against the trigger, another suit fell to the ground in a heap, felled by the sharp shots of a hawk. She paid no heed to the suits scaling down the walls behind her, having finally come to the notice of her peers, continuing to fire into the mass moving towards them. After all, with everyone else focused on them, who else would hold back the encroaching lines from the other side of the sandbags but her. Were she as proud as the Colonel, she would consider her single shots more effective than the whole barrage that Feury and the others were firing, but she was no where near as vain and openly proud of herself as he. Realizing that her thoughts had strayed to him, she struggled to refocus on the battle, ignoring the knowledge that they needed him here gnawing away at her insides. He was safer this way, she reassured herself, even though they would all surely die without his fire, his leadership, his powerful presence. At least this way he would remain safe, far away from the death and destruction that would soon swallow them all whole.

She wasn't a fool, she knew they would die here, they could not stem the flow of armored lines fast enough to save themselves, much less their dilapidated capital as it lay smoldering around them. If only…

The absence of shooting registered in the back of her mind and Riza stalled for a few seconds, her eyes darting to the side to see everyone looking to the distance. Ignoring them, she let off another shot and began to reload her gun for another round. The silence was stretching on, really only seconds, but enough to overload her mind as she was once again left to only the sound of her thundering pulse. She forced her mind to focus and stared through her sight, her fingers an instant away from pulling the trigger when the deafening silence was broken by a sharp snap.

Her stomach fell out in alarm, a pitted feeling forming in her gut as she whipped her head around in shock at the familiar sound she had not heard for almost two whole years. Her heart skipped a beat and flew into double-time as she heard Havoc say "Taisa" around his cigarette, the smile apparent in his voice. She finally smiled a half-smile, her wide eyes returning to normal as he repeated the words, "Mustang-Taisa" cutting through the roar in her ears. Without another thought, she shouldered her gun-strap and stood, her hand coming up to her face in a salute as the others continued to stare mindlessly at the calm, collected figure of Roy Mustang as he walked through the barricaded area as though he was in charge. Really, from the moment Havoc announced who he was, everyone there was prepared to follow him, regardless of the rank he had been demoted to and the fact that he shouldn't even be in Central.

Riza watched in silence as one by one, he gave orders to Falman, Feury, Havoc, Breda, and even Armstrong, everyone of their old contingent aside from her. As Armstrong ran off to get him an air-balloon, they were left alone and seeing the look on his face, she finally let her hand fall and smiled at him faintly. He was here, he was back.

It really was like something out of a dream. He was almost exactly as he had been the day before their fight with Pride, the patch covering his left eye not deterring from his imposing figure at all. Though she would never admit it out loud, Riza felt herself fall in love with him all over again as she gazed upon Roy for the first time in almost two years. Their eyes remained locked together, his eyes glittering like onyx as she gazed upon her one-time commanding officer.

"We've been waiting for you," she said, knowing that as usual, he would be able to hear what wasn't said, as he'd always done, for more years than she could count any more.

With a short nod, he acknowledged her words, but before anything else could be said, their attention was drawn once more to the approaching lines of armor bearing down upon their stronghold. Without thinking, Riza pulled out one of her pistols, lining up shots and letting fly much faster than before; the comforting sound of his fingers snapping filling her ears and lifting her spirits, giving her hope for survival and for the future.

She sensed him backing off at her side and began moving in his direction, firing off shot after shot to safeguard his exit as he ran to join Alex Armstrong. She would not allow a single suit to get to him, to get to her friends, as long as she could still fire her gun.

Too late, she heard the sound of him snapping once more, followed by the billowing of air as the balloon provided by Armstrong began to lift from the ground. As quickly as her legs could carry her, she sprinted for the balloon. Surely he wouldn't leave her here! It was her responsibility to keep him safe, to ensure that nothing happened. She'd failed once already, losing Roy an eye and almost his life. After two years of not seeing him, she was not about to let him out of her sight again!

Futilely, she called for him to wait; she was only a few steps away, easily within reach of the balloon if she leapt with the speed she had already built up. However, powerful arms stopped her and she struggled against Armstrong as Roy called down that he couldn't carry her, that he only had enough power for one. Never in her life, in all her long years of following Roy, had she ever heard him willingly admit that something was beyond his power. Calling him a liar at the top of her lungs, Riza clenched her fists and stopped struggling, watching as the only man she'd ever loved sailed into the sky, once again out of her reach.

"He'll be alright," Armstrong said, his large hand now a comfort on her shoulder as he nodded down at her. With a thin smile, she nodded, agreeing. After all, the spark in his eyes, the thing she had missed the most in the long days sitting at his bedside while he'd been in the hospital and later in his sparse home, was back, burning as brightly as the flames that her father had bestowed upon him.

Taking a few minutes to catch her breath, Riza found her helmet and with a final nod back at Armstrong, ran to join Havoc and the others as they returned to the front lines; the gentle giant and his contingent of soldiers following her back into the fray. Long minutes of shooting stretched on as she fired round after round, her eyes every so often looking to the sky towards the abomination that had arrived mysteriously, searching for any sign of Roy that she could find. As long as she could see bright fireballs in the sky exploding parts of the horrible flying contraption, she knew he was still up there.

With time, one by one, the suits of armor lost their automation and began falling to the ground, the battle on land slowing to a halt just as a bright flash lit the sky, looking suspiciously like the light of alchemy, of the unique method of transmutation used by the long-missing Edward Elric. Surely he wasn't here, up there on that… that thing? It wasn't possible, was it?

Looking around herself at Breda, Havoc and the others, she saw that they too were now watching the skies, looking for Roy. She couldn't see him, but she could tell that the flying contraptions were headed back in the direction from whence they came. Ignoring the calls of her companions, she vaulted over the tower of sandbags in front of her, running in the direction that the pieces were headed. If anything had happened to him, he'd need her, she reasoned in her mind as her legs were pumping furiously against the ground to propel her forward as quickly as she could move.


	2. Chapter 2

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

Of their own volition, Riza's feet carried her along the paths that led to the abandoned city beneath central that Sheska had led her to months ago when she had helped young Alphonse Elric in his search for Edward for a short stint of time; the dilapidated buildings eerily familiar to her after the one-time visit, like a vague sense of déjà-vu or stepping into a dream from long ago, the memories fuzzy and not very clear. Any sight of the flying monstrosity was gone, but up ahead in the distance, she could see a bright glow. It looked like alchemy, but not like any she had ever seen, for it was too bright, too expansive, too… something. She couldn't place it, but it was just… different. More massive, more potent, just… More. 

Knowing intrinsically that Roy would be there, she pelted through the ruined streets toward the light, jumping piles of rubble and climbing over felled walls and crumbling streets in her efforts to reach the blinding light as it was dying down. Sprinting the last yards into and through the large open plaza, she watched with ice in her veins as she saw a figure in blue fall to his knees, the coppery scent of blood stinging her nose as he coughed and hacked, red spraying the ground with each forced discharge of breath.

"Taisa!" She called, running to his side and falling to her knees to take hold of him. Another convulsion racked his body as she clutched his shoulders, trying to steady him. "Taisa," she said again with conviction, her hands pulling him up from the ground as she began to wipe at the crimson staining his chin with the side of her sleeve. He looked at her wearily out of his good eye, letting out a few more, smaller, blood-free coughs and grunts before his breathing settled into a scratchy wheeze.

"It's done," Roy rasped out quietly, glancing at the scorched ground where the faint imprint of an alchemic transmutation circle could be seen beneath the thick tendrils of smoke rising from the ground. "The gate, it's closed," he mumbled, slumping against Riza.

"Taisa. Oh Roy," Riza whispered into his hair as she held him, letting his head rest against her chest as he tried to regain his breath, his inhalations and exhalations slowly becoming more normal as he rested against her, her fingers gently stroking his messy ebony locks. She didn't fully understand what he was talking about, but it obviously had something to do with everything that had happened today and she knew that in time, he would tell her everything. For the moment, it was enough that he was alive and that she could be there, watching over him where she belonged. He was sweaty and bloody and exhausted, but he was in her arms and that's what counted.

"It's been a while," he mumbled into her breasts as he spoke, "since I've done any alchemy before today, and here I go doing the biggest thing I've ever done in my life." His voice was already recovering, sounding much more human with each passing minute. Shifting in Riza's arms, Roy turned his head such that his cheek was resting against the soft rise of her chest, his ear picking up the steady beat of her heart as she continued to support him.

"Well, Taisa," Riza began with a sigh, "you've always been one to make a scene, to go out with a bang, to ignore warnings, to forgo regulations when it suits you, to do more than you should, to be-"

"I think I get your point, Hawkeye," Roy said with a wan chuckle, cutting her off midway through her listing of his usual "I'm indestructible at all times, even if my subordinate calls me useless in the rain, and I can do anything and everything I want" behaviors.

Shifting her weight so that she was sitting instead of kneeling, Riza adjusted Roy's limp body, lifting his head to her shoulder to take the strain off his neck, trying to accommodate his taller height as best she could. "I'm just glad that you're alright, Taisa."

"Aa," Roy agreed, letting his good eye drift shut with the intent of resting for a few moments.

"You are going to be alright, aren't you, Taisa?" Riza asked, her voice betraying none of her concern, as usual. The sleepy nod against her neck assured her somewhat, along with the contented sigh that followed as Roy made himself comfortable, slowly slipping asleep as he let his weight settle more fully against Riza.

Glancing down at him as he slept, Riza found herself hard-pressed to not think about the last time that she had seen him, in the days and weeks following Edward's disappearance and their own fateful attack on the Führer. He'd needed her then as he did right now, his over-exerted and injured body straining to repair the damage wrought upon it. In those days, following her admittance of failure and his subsequent rebuttal that she was not to blame, they'd been closer than ever before in all their years together. The pair of them and Black Hayate had been almost like a small little family, and she secretly had enjoyed and treasured their days together. It reminded her of their shared childhood, so many years ago.

In those few short weeks of his recovery, she'd remained constantly by his side, assisting him however she could and making sure he continued to use his cane while he still needed it, despite his pride. Originally, she'd remained at his bedside, helping him first with menial tasks and later with sitting up and standing on his own, then after that she continued to stand by him as he had to rebuild the strength in his legs and had to get used to having only one eye. The days of effort and strain had stretched on and on, but he was soon up and about, at first with Riza supporting him while he used his cane, until he slowly built up the strength and self-reliance to not need either. By the time she realized he was becoming distant and withdrawn, it was too late.

Shortly after he had recovered, he'd disappeared to the border, taking Riza's heart with him. The following two years had been like a blur, where she was merely existing and functioning, playing the part of dedicated soldier and longing to see his self-assured smirk and proud features, even if it was to see him whining about paperwork. On a few occasions, Havoc and the other men had expressed their concern for her, each time earning them a curt reply and the click of her safety being removed on her pistol. Eventually, they gave up on trying to talk to her about Roy. Every so often, Havoc would get that look in his eyes that he was going to bring the subject up, but casting once look at Riza and her pistols resting in their holsters and he would think better of it and get back to work, but not before letting out a deep, defeated sigh.

In fact, after the first few months, the only person that even mentioned him to her anymore was Gracia Hughes. Sweet, quiet, widowed Gracia, who understood more than anyone, save possibly young Winry Rockbell, what she was going through. Many nights, she would spend the evening with the Hughes women, watching young Elysia grow during those two years into a beautiful young girl that would have made Maes even more proud than he'd already been. Rarely would Gracia bring up her deceased husband's best friend, but the few times she had, she and Riza had spent most of the night talking about him, painful nights where she spilled to Gracia secrets of her heart that she had never voiced to anyone before and the details of her long past with her former commanding officer.

It was during one of those nights that she'd finally confessed to Gracia the true depths of her devotion and love for the man currently dozing upon her, leading up to the second time in her adult life she'd ever cried over Roy Mustang, the first of course being the night of their attack on King Bradley when she had discovered his broken and dying body lying on the steps of the Führer's mansion.

Pushing the depressing thoughts to the back of her mind for the moment, Riza looked down again at the man in her arms. He was still as strikingly handsome as he had always been, the patch covering his scarred and useless eye matching his black hair and eyes more than taking away from his fine features. It was so refreshing to have him near her once again, after two years of separation. Long years of her life had now been devoted solely to this man, her presence ever two steps behind him as he traveled down his life's path, always ready at a moment's notice to defend him, to fight for him, to kill for him if necessary. She could not bear to lose him again.


	3. Chapter 3

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

She didn't know how long she had stayed lost in thought like that, but the light falling through the top of the cavern from above was finally starting to dim when Roy opened his eye once more, fixing her with a tired stare. 

Ever so slowly, as though loath to move from his resting spot, Roy pushed himself up until he was sitting under his own power, looking intently at his devoted subordinate, his faithful defender and partner. After a few moments of staring, he reached over and unclasped her skewed hair barrette, letting her matted and sweaty hair fall around her shoulders while he slipped the clip into her pocket.

"Taisa?" She asked, confused at his actions and his serious look.

Roy shook his head slowly. "It's nothing, Hawkeye. I'm just making sure that you still match the image of you that I recalled from my recovery last time." Seeing her confusion in her eyes, he merely smiled. "I just wanted to see your hair down," he said with a small smile as he managed to push himself to his feet. "It was falling down anyways." Cocking his head to the side, he stared for a few more moments before adding "It's longer than I remember."

Holding a hand down to her, he helped her stand before dusting off his pants, sending much of the blood that had dried on his hands flaking to the floor. "Well, should we go assess the damage up above?" Roy asked, gesturing to the long, sloping path that Riza had run down what seemed like hours and hours ago.

"Yes sir, Taisa," Riza replied, throwing a sharp salute, moving out a step and a half behind Roy as they made their way through the forgotten city. She was constantly alert of his condition as they made their way through the streets, ever on the lookout for a loss of balance or a flash of weakened constitution, ready to assist him should he need her.

They managed to make their way back to headquarters with only minimal incidents where Roy's tired body needed assistance to continue on, each falter in his step met by strong and capable hands supporting him. As the pair approached, they could see the vague outlines of Havoc and Breda lingering outside by the main entrance, as though waiting for the pair.

Slowing their speed, Roy looked at the woman walking beside him, ever the poised soldier, even with her long hair loose and flowing behind her as she was at the moment. "It seems we'll all have our work cut out for us, helping the citizens of Central with the repair efforts," he observed as he surveyed the damage to the city around them.

"So it would seem, Taisa," Riza replied, her eyes still focused ahead of them.

With a small smile, Roy placed a hand on her arm, just for a few seconds, but long enough for both, for now. "It's good to be back."

Riza's serious face softened and she glanced at him out of the sides of her eyes. "It's good to have you back, Sir."

"So, will I get fresh fruit cut for me again, now that I've returned?" Roy asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as they began to mount the steps, nearing their compatriots.

"We'll see," Riza tossed him one last small look before fixing her features once more. "Sir," she added, almost as an afterthought.

Breda and Havoc threw up sharp salutes as the pair neared the top steps. "Mustang-Taisa, Hawkeye-Chuui," Havoc said, his unlit cigarette falling out of his mouth as he noticed Riza's hair. "Sir, the higher-ups would like to speak with you about your actions today. I believe they wished to speak with you alone, Sir."

"Oh?" Roy asked with interest, dusting off his messy uniform as best he could and ignoring the looks his former subordinates were shooting at the blood staining both his coat and Riza's.

Breda spoke up then, hitting Havoc in the arm lightly. "I wouldn't worry, Taisa. The word around the area has been that they want you back here and that they want you reinstated in your rank, with the possibility for a promotion considering your quick thinking and service to your capital and country today. 'Course, that's all unofficial though, Sir."

Roy merely nodded in response, standing still for a few moments as Riza straightened his uniform and brushed his bangs back into some semblance of control for him before setting off, leaving his three former subordinates standing together on the front steps of Headquarters, surrounded on all sides by people working on cleanup crews.

Pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, Havoc placed it between his lips and began searching his other pockets for a lighter while Breda eyed Riza, looking like he wanted to say something. Riza, for her part, was still looking in the direction that Roy had left, her face as void of expression as ever. Noticing that Breda wasn't going to start talking any time soon, Havoc took it upon himself to start the conversation with their superior officer and friend. "Chuui, Ma'am, are you okay?"

The few quick blinks of her eyes before she turned her head to face him were the only signs that Havoc got that he'd startled Riza before she answered. "Of course, why would I not be?"

Havoc shrugged and started opening his coat in order to search his internal pockets for his missing lighter. "It's been a while since you've seen him, that's all. And, of course, today has been long and strenuous for us all, Ma'am." He smiled at her before continuing. "Besides, if Mustang-Taisa takes over again, you'll no longer be the only Chuui with her own dispatch of subordinates, since we'll all likely be back under his command."

"That's not all she'll be under with him back," Breda said with a sly smirk, earning him a hard slap to the back of his head from Havoc, and a 'do I have to shoot you?' look from Riza as she finally took pity on Havoc and pulled the unnoticed matchbook that was resting in the crook between his head and his left ear free and handed it to him.

"Dammit, Breda, don't say shit like that about Hawkeye and Mustang-Taisa!" he sneered, throwing a frown at his peer and an apologetic look to Riza as he lit his cigarette. "You ought'a know better than to talk about a lady's personal business so casually like that," he scolded, blowing a lungful of smoke in his face in retaliation.

With a mumbled "My apologies, Hawkeye-Chuui," Breda saluted and left, jogging back over to the group he and Havoc had been working with before they were ordered to deliver their message.


	4. Chapter 4

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

Casting a look up at the waning sun and the high-powered work lights all around them that were turning on for the night crews, Havoc tossed one last reproachful look at Breda before resting a hand on Riza's arm. "Ma'am, would you let me walk you home?" he asked, a normal, friendly smile gracing his cigarette-smoking mouth as he looked at his superior. 

"Havoc?"

"Well, I'm not scheduled for work on the crews again until morning and being a woman; you're probably not going to be out in the wreckage at all, until you threaten the higher-ups to let you out there. Plus, Mustang-Taisa will probably be in his meeting until well into the night, so I just thought I'd offer to walk you back to your apartment. You know, to be friendly, Ma'am." He shrugged again and still had that wholesome smile on his face as he stared at her, awaiting her response. She really ought to wait for Roy, but Havoc was right, it would probably be well in to morning before they were finished with him, and maybe this once, she should leave, instead of standing sentry outside the room like she usually did. Besides, Havoc looked like he wanted to talk to her, and even though they had been classmates and friends from their academy days, it had been weeks since they'd had more that five minutes to talk about things outside work. With an internal sigh, she relented to his earnest look.

"Riza," she said, returning his smile.

"Ma'am?"

Riza patted Havoc on the shoulder and started down the first few steps before saying over her shoulder, "If you're going to walk me home, since we're both off duty, then I don't want you to call me 'Chuui' or 'Ma'am.' I want to go back to being Riza."

Throwing her a mock-salute and hopping down the stairs to catch up to her, Havoc grinned. "Yes, Ma'am, Riza," he said with a wink, earning him a swat in the arm. "But you have to call me 'Jean' like the old days, and we have to call Mustang-Taisa 'Roy' when we talk about him."

Riza raised an eyebrow at her companion. "Who said we were going to talk about Tai- about Roy?"

Havoc held his arm out to her, now that they were further away from headquarters, which Riza accepted with a chuckle. "Come on, we haven't seen Roy here in almost two years, and 'Poof!' he just appears out of nowhere today. How could we not talk about him?" Using his free hand, he patted the smaller one that was resting in the crook of his arm before continuing. "And besides, Riza, even though Breda, er… Heymans, is an uncouth jerk sometimes, it doesn't mean that I can't seriously talk with a woman about someone that she loves. Especially with an old friend."

She opened her mouth to argue with him, then settled for a wry smile. "It's… it's wonderful to see him again," she finally admitted after long moments of staring at the ground in front of them as they walked. "I honestly was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see him again. You and Br- Heymans being so secretive about your visit didn't help matters any."

Havoc had the decency to look sheepish as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "You knew about that, huh?"

"How could I not?" Riza said with a sardonic chuckle. "You both took two days off and disappeared from Central. Also, I saw the receipt for your train tickets in the waste bin."

"Oops."

"Besides, neither one of you could look at me after you got back without looking guiltier than Black Hayate when he knows he's done something to make me mad. After putting together all the clues, it was fairly obvious that you went up north to see him." Looking over at Havoc, she asked, "He… Roy wasn't himself, was he?"

"Hm?"

"In the days before he left, Roy started growing quieter and was pulling back from me, though I didn't notice it at first. Aside from refusing to use alchemy, he was… different, distant. It was almost like the life was slowly seeping out of him, even though he was getting better and becoming stronger with each day."

Sighing, Havoc let his finished cigarette drop from his mouth, stepping on it as he passed it before answering. "I'm not going to lie to you, Riza. It was pretty bad. It was pretty much like you said; Roy just seemed like everything that made him the man we all respect so much had been ripped out, leaving just this shell. I think it hit me hardest when he tried to light a match for me and couldn't get it to spark. He just looked so defeated and pitiful. It was horrible seeing like that. I'm… I'm glad you weren't there to have to see it. Breda, Heymans, he wanted to bring you at first but I talked him out of it before we left. Roy wouldn't have wanted you, the woman he loves and needs more than any other, to have seen him that low. I think it was for the best that you hadn't accompanied us."

Riza nodded, her cheeks flushed ever so slightly at Havoc's final statement of Roy's affection for her. "I just wish there had been something that I could have done for him all that time. I felt so useless when he left, after weeks of helping him recover." She frowned at her feet as she spoke. "I felt like I had failed him a second time."

"You're being too hard on yourself. Something happened with Roy that he didn't want us to understand, that he needed to see to on his own, and I think whatever it was had to do with those boys, and has passed. He's never held anything against you. Trust me, the eyes, well, the eye, of the man walking up the steps to HQ with you this evening didn't belong to a man that thought you were a failure."

"Hm?"

Havoc chuckled, knocking into Riza's shoulder playfully with his own. "Roy was looking at you like you were the most beautiful woman in the world earlier and like he'd want nothing more than to spend as much time as his life would allow him by your side. He had some easily-read thoughts not proper for polite conversation too, but he was actually trying to hide those." He grinned at the flush threatening to spread across his superior officer's cheeks. "You should wear your hair down more often, though I don't think you'd ever get any of us to work again if you did that." He winked playfully at her and squeezed her hand on his arm with his free one.

"Really?" Riza asked, genuine concern in her tone as she touched the strands around her shoulders gingerly with her free hand.

"Yeah, definitely. You've got really beautiful hair, Riza. It's all shiny and sleek, and catches any light that's nearby. Trust me; your hair definitely catches Roy's attention, in a good way. He was staring at you the whole time we were talking earlier."

Riza smiled then as they turned down another street, weaving through the city at a slow pace. "That's the last thing we all need, Roy with something else to distract him from working. He finds enough on his own, he doesn't need my help."

Havoc chuckled, pulling out a fresh cigarette and leaving in unlit between his lips, "You've got a point there, he's always been pretty bad about work. Having the rest of us around didn't help matter much, did it? You were the only one there that was ever interested in doing their job when it came to office work."

"That's just because… well, someone had to keep everyone on task, if we ever hoped for Roy to become the Führer. I wonder…" Riza trailed off, her gaze unfocused, yet gazing ahead of them.

Havoc, curious about the interruption to her train of thought, waved his hand on front of her face, catching her attention. "You wonder what?"

Riza blinked a few times again, her alert method of 'jumping' when she was startled, and turned her head again toward Havoc. "I was just… I was wondering, if Roy was still intent on becoming the Führer now, with the majority of the non-military power having been removed from the position and given to the parliament. I know, he used to talk big about silly things like miniskirts and abolishing paperwork throughout the military, but the thing he wanted most was to be able to cause real change; to be able to help all of the people of Amestris." Havoc noticed that her eyes were getting that far-off, unfocused look once more as she spoke. He smiled, thinking that neither realized just how much in love with one another they actually were. "He just wanted… to help people, like all Alchemists do…"

Havoc squeezed the hand that was tucked against his arm comfortingly, at a loss for a response for the moment. Riza, glancing down at their joined hands, smiled again.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just rambling on about Roy now, aren't I?"

Havoc merely shrugged. "It's ok, I think it needed said, even if it's just to little ol' me." He blushed at the grateful look thrown his way, his hand moving from hers to scratch at the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. It had been a long time since Riza had been so open about herself, and he wasn't used to her being like this. They hadn't been this close for a while now, but it pleasantly reminded him of their days in the Academy, before Ishbal and protecting Roy's dreams took away her smiles and made his a little more forced than they were before. He idly wondered if her reversion would be permanent, before remembering that they were in the middle of a discussion. "…Anyway, back to Roy. I think that really, even though there has been a lot of power stripped from the position, he could still make a difference, so he'll probably want to keep his focus on it. Even just continuing to move up the ranks will help, he'll have greater and greater influence both in the military and with civilians, to a certain extent. After all, now he's the hero of Central and that's surely got to count for something, right?"

Riza merely nodded in response.

Looking at the woman beside him, Havoc suddenly had a thought, and grinned. "And besides, thanks to the Parliament, it's not like he'll have to become Führer to change the military fraternization laws now."

"What?" Riza asked, her cheeks flushed, though her curiosity was obviously piqued.

Havoc merely winked before continuing his train of thought. "I guess that was the one issued paper to the office that we noticed and you didn't, Riza. Did you forget that I dated Sheska for a month? Come on! The old guys in power decreed that military relationships were allowed, with the stipulation that it not affect performance within the ranks. Yeah, we can get severely punished if we screw up our jobs because of it, but we can see other individuals in the military, you know, like dating, or…" he grinned at the woman on his arm, almost a playful leer, "Marriage."

Her face red, Riza started laughing as she released her hand from Havoc's arm and shoved him to the side, hearing his own rich laughter in return. "What?" he cried with a smile on his face. "Would you not marry Roy if he asked you? I always thought you two belonged together, spewing out lots of gun-toting alchemist babies to protect the future of Amestris."

"That's none of your business," Riza protested weakly through her chuckles, her face still ablaze. Oh did that train of thought have appeal…

"Hah!" Havoc said, pointing at her. "You didn't deny it!"

"So what if I would?" Riza asked as she crossed her arms petulantly.

Havoc finally stopped laughing and grinned at Riza as he threw an arm over her shoulders. "Then, I would be truly happy for the both of you. You've both deserved a happy ending for a long time now."

Riza, still flushed, shoved him away again. "Oh, stop getting sappy on me, Jean. You shouldn't be allowed to cause your poised superior to blush like a schoolgirl. Isn't there some military law about that?"

Slipping his hands into his pockets, Havoc was still grinning as he responded. "It probably got taken away with the fraternization laws. I bet those old guys would love the chance to see all the women like you in the military lose their composure."

Riza was about to send him a sharp retort, but she looked up and noticed that they had finally reached her dormitory building. "Oh," she said eloquently, staring at the building in front of her." Would you like to come in for a bit for a drink or something?" She offered.

Shaking his head, Havoc declined. "Nah, I'd probably fall asleep on the walk back to my apartment if I did. Tell you what though, how about I pick you up and walk you to work tomorrow morning?"

"I'd like that, Jean," Riza said as she nodded. I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight."

"Night, Riza. Give Hayate a pat on the head for me," he called over his shoulder as he began heading down the street.

As Riza was ascending the steps to the first, then to the second floor of the apartment complex, she found her mind drifting back to their conversation, her insides warming in a definitively bubbly and girly manner as she thought about getting married. It was a concept and idea that she had long been shoving further and further into the back of her mind, labeled as a "hopeless dream" that wouldn't happen; not while she was still trying to assist Roy on the road to becoming Führer. By the time she was unlocking her door and greeting Black Hayate with a pat on his head and scratches behind his ears, her mind had already wandered to little Elysia dressed as the flower girl and where they would hold the ceremony.

She was finally interrupted from her thoughts by a solid weight on her foot and looking down; she noticed that Hayate was sitting on her, eagerly awaiting her to finish getting him his dinner. A glance at the clock told her she'd been uncharacteristically daydreaming for almost 10 minutes, standing at her counter with a half-opened jar of food in her hand as she thought about all the possibilities for a wedding.

After she finished feeding her faithful companion, Riza made her way into her bedroom, stripping from her filthy uniform and tossing it into the basket in the corner to wash once the weekend came.

Showering and brushing out her wet hair both consisted of very giddy, very un-Hawkeye thoughts of flowers and white dresses and Roy Mustang in his dress uniform. By the time she laid down to go to sleep, Riza felt more like a woman than she had in a long, long time.

* * *

_No, Havoc is not secretly in love with Riza, but I envision that they were very close friends when they were in the academy, with a friendship similar to Roy and Hughes. No real reason why, I just see that as a possibility for them, so I decided to go with it. Sorry this is just them talking, once I got them started, I couldn't seem to get Havoc to shut up, then Riza, and well, five pages later in Word, I found a place where I wanted them to stop talking. I'll be out of town for the weekend, so no updates for a while, sorry. Many thanks for all the kind reviews, alerts, and favourites I have gotten for this story so far. **-K**_


	5. Chapter 5

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

For the first time in more months that he cared to think about, Roy Mustang entered his former office in Central, his uniform adorned with the familiar epaulets that it once held before his and Riza's ill-fated battle with King Bradley. It was just like old times, excepting that fact that Riza and Breda were the only people sitting in the office, as opposed to his usual contingent of subordinates. Casting a look at the clock on the wall, he noted that while his arrival was earlier than it usually was before his absence, Havoc, Falman, and Feury should all be in the office as well by now. Thinking about his own "early" arrival, Roy thought a silent "thank you" to Gracia Hughes for not only allowing him to stay with her the previous night, but for waking him up this morning, a feat that would have proved difficult for him to do on his own after only getting two hours of sleep. 

The review meeting had been long, tedious, and at times painfully boring, but receiving the triple-starred epaulets he'd long gone without, along with a crisp, blood-free uniform at the end of it made it all worth while, even if he didn't leave until almost sunrise.

Part of him had been hoping that Riza would be waiting for him as usual when he exited the building, but casting a glance at the glowing horizon, he had been glad that she was likely home and asleep, she certainly deserved it.

Examining the desks of his missing subordinates, he found them stacked with fresh paperwork that was likely fetched by Riza just this morning, implying that none of them had made an appearance in the office yet. Or if they had, they hadn't stayed for long. Furrowing his brow, he turned to his lone female subordinate, finding her diligently working on the stack covering her desk. For a few moments, he allowed himself the luxury of watching her work, his eyes drawn to the nape of her neck, bared by her usual tidy hairstyle.

Never before had he been one to notice the little things, even with Hawkeye, and yet now he couldn't seem to draw his eyes away from that small area of skin, the gentle curve as she sat working distracting his mind from all other thoughts for long minutes. It wasn't until Breda moved in his chair, echoing a squeak through the room, that Roy become aware of just how long he'd been staring. Shaking his head, he realized that his presence was still unnoticed by the room's other occupants.

"Hawkeye?" he inquired, finally getting her attention. Her head snapped up, quickly followed by Breda, and the pair stood, saluting him.

"It's good to have you back with us, Taisa," Breda said, eyeing Roy's shoulders to confirm his rank. Seeing that all was as it once was, he couldn't help but smile.

"You needed something, Sir?" Riza asked, businesslike as usual, though she too was smiling at Roy, if only a little.

Nodding in response to her question, Roy gestured to the empty desks with one hand. "Where is the rest of our staff today?"

Riza looked at him with one eyebrow raised for a moment and then began explaining. "Sir, if you hadn't noticed, the city is a wreck, nearly in ruins in some areas. Who do you think it falls to for repairing it? The three of them are out with the work crews and will be until lunch."

"And the two of you?" he asked, hoping to feel a little less stupid after this answer than he did the first. Every time he asked Riza something that seemed like common knowledge, it had made him feel bad in the past, and it seemed like the feelings continued presently as well.

"I did my first shift of work last night on the crews, Sir," Breda answered. "I'll be going back out this afternoon."

"Until my request comes back with an answer, I won't be stationed outdoors with the reconstruction teams," Riza explained. "I've requested to join the crews though, as it's foolish to leave me here indoors when I'm fully capable of helping." Anticipating Roy's next question, Riza skimmed over the lone paper sitting on the far corner of her desk, away from the piles of work covering the rest. "Sir, your own rounds of duty will begin tomorrow afternoon with the day crews, directly after lunch. I assume your chief duties will involve alchemy. You'll be joining Armstrong's team of men, south of HQ."

"Armstrong?"

Riza nodded at him. "Yes, Sir. He's helping out with the recovery efforts, as he is still a highly skilled alchemist and he graciously offered his services, something he seems to do a lot, despite no longer being an official member of the military." Seeing Roy's blank stare, she decided that his questions were probably finished. She desperately wanted to smile at his confused expression though; only he could make befuddlement look attractive. "Will that be all, Sir?"

Roy blinked at her a few times before nodding. "That will be all, Hawkeye."

"Thank you, Sir," Riza said as she sat at her desk once more. "I would suggest then, that you get started on your own paperwork, as there is plenty waiting for you. The center stack is the one that will interest you the most and needs finished first, as it all details your return to our office here and the transfer of command of our unit from myself to you."

Her final words gave him pause, and Roy turned to face her again, halfway to his desk. "You were in charge of this unit in my absence, Hawkeye?"

"I was, Sir. However, I will gladly allow you to step back in and take over again."

"And you're still a Chuui? You haven't been given a promotion this whole time?" Something about the fact that she had been in charge of their group for almost two years, three ranks below the one he held now without any rewards of promotion, bothered him. By now, she should at least be on par with the State Alchemists in terms of rank. Surely she deserved at least that much, she was a dedicated worker and damn good at her job.

"Sir, at the risk of sounding presumptuous, I do not believe our superiors wished to raise my rank due to the part I played in the attack on King Bradley. It is quite alright, as they allowed our unit to remain unchanged and saw fit to leave me in charge of it this whole time." The words "while you were away," hung unsaid between them in the tense silence.

Frowning, Roy nodded his head and continued on his way to his desk, settling in to work on his paperwork, his mind still thinking about the previous conversation, and the woman with whom it was held. Riza's ability to survive in adversity was still amazing him, years after they had met, so long ago.


	6. Chapter 6

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

The morning had been one of the quietest to date in the Mustang office, with only three people there, each working in silence. Well, working for the most part. Breda and Hawkeye were working and Roy was casting glances as Riza whenever he thought she wouldn't catch him. It wasn't his fault, really, that he couldn't concentrate. It had been months since he'd had a desk job, and just as long since he'd been able to look at Riza instead of doing the work that came with said desk job. He frequently found himself smiling, finding a particular feature each time he thought was cute or pretty or elegant or… the list of features and adjectives went on, and his paperwork got finished at a spectacularly sluggish pace. It remained that way until noon, when the door opened and the remaining members of the unit, talking animatedly with each other, arrived. 

"-and I had to get dug out by three soldiers from the wreckage before we could continue," Feury finished his story, eliciting laughter from his companions as Havoc patted him on the back consolingly. Seeing Roy at his desk, the three saluted and Falman said a calm "Welcome back, Sir," as they waited for Roy to stand. Tossing them a quick salute, he approached the group with a smile.

"I see you men are finished with the repair crews for the day, would you care to join the three of us for lunch?"

Breda and Riza both looked at him curiously for a moment and stood, obviously picking up that they were to join them, despite being almost 20 minutes until it was time for them to break for lunch.

"Sounds great, Taisa," Havoc said, a grin on his dirt-streaked face as he wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. He cast his attention at Riza, grinning harder when he noticed her making an effort to not smile.

Riza made quick work of organizing the top of her desk before she walked over to the group. She didn't exactly smile, but she let her features soften as she felt Roy's hand at the small of her back as she made her way out the door. All too soon, it was gone as they entered the hallway. "I'd like to hear how things have been going so far this morning, if it's ok with the three of you," she said as the group of six made their way out the door and began walking down the hall together in the direction of the cafeteria.

"Have you heard anything back about getting assigned to the crews, Ma'am?" Feury asked, removing his streaky glasses to clean the lenses.

"Sadly, no," Riza replied.

"I keep telling her," Havoc said with a grin, "that all she needs to do is whip out her guns, and they'll sign her up in no time, but she won't listen."

"Havoc's got a point, Chuui," Breda added. "If you start making threats, they'll let you out there for sure."

"I know I wouldn't mess with you with that kind of persuasion," Feury added with one of his warm smiles. Falman smiled and nodded his agreement.

"Maybe I can pull some strings and get you assigned, if you really want out there," Roy offered as he opened the doors and led the group into the bustling cafeteria. It seems that they weren't the only people that had arrived early, as there were already people trickling into the room singularly and in groups like theirs.

"I appreciate the offer, but I think you've had enough strings pulled that were attached to your name recently, Taisa," Riza said with a tiny smirk, patting him on the arm as they all separated into different lines to get their desired lunches.

Having beaten the rush, they were able to quickly get food and met back up at one of the tables on the far end of the room, near the doors that they entered through.

"So, how're things going out there?" Breda asked before biting into the large sandwich taking up most of his plate.

Taking a moment to chew and swallow, Feury was the first to reply. "Well, since I'm so short and light, I'm with one of the search and rescue teams, crawling through rubble in search of survivors. Excepting a few mishaps with team members getting stuck in buildings, things have gone well. We've managed to excavate a few blocks and got two different families freed from crumbled homes. The work's pretty slow, because we constantly have to watch what we're doing, since the buildings could collapse at any moment." Rolling up his sleeve, he showed a few bandages wrapped around his left forearm. "If we're not careful, we get parts of houses falling on us, like what happened with me earlier today."

"Oh?" Breda asked, intrigued. While the others had heard the story already, He, Roy and Riza had missed out. He and Roy were listening attentively, watching Feury as he spoke while Riza was still eating her lunch, less obviously focused on her companion than the others.

"Yeah, I was trying to reach a kitten that was stuck under a flight of rickety stairs, and managed to cause them to crumble. You know how soft I am for animals; I threw myself over the cat and saved it, but it took almost twenty minutes before the team could get me dug out enough that I could climb free. I've just got some minor scratches, but we've got them wrapped to keep them clean."

Eyeing Havoc as he all but inhaled the soup that he was spooning into his mouth, Breda decided to question Falman instead. "What about you? What kind of crew are you working with?"

"Nothing as exciting as Feury, I'm afraid. I'm basically in charge of organization for one of the moving crews. We just load up debris and send it to other areas, mostly to the alchemists."

Nearly spitting out his soup in his rush to speak, Havoc piped up. "That'd be us."

"What?"

"I'm on one of the alchemist teams. Some fameless State Alchemist whose title slipped my mind again. He's a bit older than you, Taisa, and almost my height." He motioned to an area in the middle of his forehead with his hand. "All we do is bring him the materials that your," he pointed to Falman, "groups give us, and he does his thing, leaving repaired buildings in his wake. It's really bothersome, because we've got sheets and sheets of street layouts and building floor plans that we have to work with. Basically, our job is to reconstruct things as close to the way they were as possible and in order to do that, we've got to get the right kind of materials to the right sites and things like that. All in all, it's pretty tedious work. Have fun with that tomorrow, Taisa. At least you'll get to do the alchemic parts of it all, instead of the organizing."

"Well, at least I know what I'll be doing, finally," Roy commented between bites of his own lunch. "I suppose that doesn't sound too bad, in terms of what I'll be in charge of getting done."

Taking a moment to pause from sipping her tea, Riza decide to speak. "Personally, I think that none of it is 'too bad,' because we at least have a city to rebuild. Things yesterday could have gone much worse than they did, and we should all be thankful." She felt all five of them watching her as she closed her eyes and serenely went back to her tea, ignoring the knuckles that rested against her hip for a few brief moments on the side between her and Roy. For the entire meal, she had been trying not to think about him as their legs continually brushed against one another with each movement that Roy made, constantly fidgeting at he ate and spoke with his subordinates. So far, success had been minimal. She kept thinking about her long conversation with Havoc and it made her all the more aware of the man beside her.

Pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, Havoc liberated one and let it rest unlit between his lips before breaking the silence that had settled. "So, what have the three of you been up to while we've been out getting gritty and dirty all morning?"

In unison, all three replied "Paperwork," earning a sneer from the others.

"I take it that's all we've got waiting for us at the office this afternoon, Sir?" Feury asked, his gaze pointed to Roy.

"Do we ever have anything else?" Havoc asked with a grim smile. Roy merely nodded an affirmative answer.

Seeing others around them getting up, Breda took that at his cue and stood from the table, taking his tray in hand. "You guys enjoy your paperwork while I'm out doing heavy-duty physical labor. I'm in a clean-up and moving crew like Falman, but I'm one of the poor guys that's doing all the lifting onto the trucks, like I was doing last night. I'll see you all tomorrow." Throwing one last salute at Roy and Riza, he made his way to the tray return and was soon out the door with the others working the afternoon shifts.

"I suppose there's nothing for it but to get started on our paperwork," Feury said sadly, making to stand. Havoc and Falman joined him and eventually, after a deep, pitiful sigh, Roy stood as well. With much less drama, Riza rose from her seat and followed the others, silently sipping her tea all the way back to the office.

The group of five was greeted at their office by a very timid and nervous officer clutching a manila folder in his hands and staring at his feet. Seeing them approach, he jerked ramrod straight, saluting sharply. "Mustang-Taisa, Sir, I'm here to deliver some documents to Hawkeye-Chuui."

Waving his hand for the poor man to stand down, Roy walked past him into his office. "Go right ahead, that's fine."

"Ma'am," the timid man, almost as short as Feury, stammered; holding out the file folder to Riza. "These contain your assignment for tomorrow's afternoon shift and the following days, and an updated set of schedules and logs for your team's office for the next week."

Smiling around her teacup, Riza gratefully took the file from the man and thanked him before sending him on his way, shooting a superior look to the four men now seated at their desks as they watched her. "See? Not everyone has to be held at gunpoint to honor my requests, just you lot of miscreants."

Havoc clasped a hand over his heart mockingly. "Your harsh words wound me, Hawkeye-Chuui. So, what kind of grunt work does the brass have you doing tomorrow?"

Skimming her eyes over the top sheet, the edges of Riza's lips turned up ever so slightly in a smile before she looked back up and said, "It appears that Alex Armstrong has personally requested me to help assist him and his team tomorrow afternoon. It says here that I'll be directly answering to Mustang-Taisa and in charge of organization for his half of the team, due in part to my familiarity with alchemy." She continued reading, ignoring the fact that everyone but Roy was still watching her. She chuckled as she got to the end of the message. "There is also a note of me having shown exceptional skills in organization and about being familiar with Taisa's bad work habits."

At that, Roy's head snapped up from the work he was staring at futilely and he couldn't stop the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Then I suppose I should welcome you to the team, Hawkeye. It will be good to have you with us, even if part of your job is to keep me on task."

"Thank you, Sir," Riza replied calmly as she sat back down at her desk, happier with the outcome of her request than she had first thought possible. Tomorrow should prove quite enjoyable. After all, anyone that actually knew Roy Mustang knew that his lack of motivation when working in the office was inversely proportional with his attention span for field work, meaning that they would spend the day productively working as a team to help repair the city. She couldn't think of a person she's rather spend the afternoon working with.

* * *

_Ok, I promise, there is actual romance-related material in the works in the upcoming chapters. Part of the reason chapters are so short is my work schedule and there's nothing I can about that, but I am sorry. The other reason for short chapters is that I'm kinda breaking it into "scenes" and some just end up longer than others, there's no real rhyme or reason to it. The one I'm working on prewriting (chapter 9, I think) is already about 8 and a half pages in Word, and already over 4000 words. (It's basically entirely Roy and Riza interacting.) This chapter was 4 pages and about 2000 words, to give you an idea. Another problem is that I have to Beta my own work, meaning I have to take some time away from it before rereading it a few times, in order to catch mistakes and awkward wording, which isn't helping the slow updating speed. _

_Basically, I'm sorry that I'm slow, but I am working my hardest to keep this at a relatively normal updating pace and I'll try to make chapters longer, but I don't want to stretch scenes unnecessarily, so no promises about that. Many thanks for all the support I've gotten so far, you're all wonderful; reviews, fav-ers, and alert-ers. ...I'm shutting up now. **-K**  
_


	7. Chapter 7

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

Roy looked around his borrowed room and frowned. He really should find somewhere else to stay, but Gracia had assured him that it was no problem to stay in their guest room and space was one thing not in abundance in Central at the moment. His official transfer was still going through the system at the moment, and he had yet to receive word of when his belongings would arrive from the north. In the meantime, that left him with no way of furnishing an apartment, and thusly he was staying with his best friend's widow. 

Gracia and Elysia had moved to this house shortly after he received his injuries two years ago and in the time since, had become quite friendly with Riza, according to Gracia. It seemed that their close living proximity had led to Riza spending more and more time with the Hughes women, as they lived only a ten minute walk away from her apartment.

The thought of them becoming better friends warmed his heart; Riza's presence would have helped ease the pain of losing Maes; she'd certainly had enough practice on him in the days and weeks following the funeral. She had been a valuable crutch for him after his best friend had been murdered; looking after him as he tried to drink himself into oblivion and simply letting him know that she was watching over him still. Even then, he'd recognized through his self-destructive haze of bitterness and alcohol that he'd have been truly lost without her. Gracia was lucky to have Riza befriend her and open up to her as a person, fortunate to have her help fill the void her husband had left and give assistance in raising Elysia as she grew older.

Elysia, who was actually his and Riza's goddaughter thanks to Maes's insistence, had grown like a weed since he'd left and was becoming as talkative and lively as her father had been, keeping him and her mother entertained all through dinner that evening before he'd excused himself to start getting ready for bed. His lack of sleep the night before had finally caught up with him, and he was about to pass out on his feet.

Roy was toweling dry his hair after his shower when a knock came at the door. Glancing down to make sure his night clothes were on straight, he called out "Come on in," and continued drying his hair.

"I was just wondering how you were doing," Gracia said softly as she entered the room. "You seemed subdued at dinner. Even Elysia noticed."

"I'm just tired. You know I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, and of course, I had to stay late today finishing the paperwork that absolutely had to be ready for tomorrow that I didn't get done in time. No real surprise there, huh?"

Chuckling, Gracia leaned against the doorframe. "I'm sure you had help this evening, so it couldn't have been all bad."

"Hm?"

The smile Gracia sent him was exactly the one Maes wore when he was about to heckle Roy, and he couldn't tell if he should fear it as he usually did, or just be touched that his friend was still around in so many little ways. "What? Did you think that I didn't know that Riza always keeps you company and helps out when you have to work late? Maes and I always suspected that was at least half of the reason that you didn't work during the day, so that you could have time with her all to yourself in the evenings."

"It didn't really start out that way," Roy protested weakly, running his fingers through his damp hair. "I do have to admit though; it's always been a plus. It became about the only way I could safely get time alone with her without putting our careers in danger."

Sighing, Gracia shook her head at him and gathered up the wet towels that Roy had left heaped on the floor. "Honestly, Roy, forget the stupid military. When are you going to just get it over with and tell that woman that you love her?" She looked at him imploringly. He could almost tangibly see the ghost of his best friend in her gaze as she stared him down, and he could feel the color drain from his face as she so bluntly stated his feelings that for so long had been too abstract for him to put to words. "The entire time I've known you, Maes was trying to get you to admit to her that you needed to be with her, hasn't it been long enough?"

Rubbing unconsciously at the scars running over the left side of his face, Roy stared at Gracia for a few long moments before answering. "Hawkeye already knows that I need her-"

"Then tell her that you love her! Knowing that you need her as your subordinate and bodyguard isn't good enough!" Gracia suddenly yelled at him, cutting Roy off. "Riza's more than a warm body that keeps you from getting shot and a set of guns! You know it and I know it, but she needs to know it too."

Roy was shocked, and it was evident on his face as he gaped at Gracia. He'd only heard her raise her voice maybe one or two other times in his life and here she was, yelling at him and lecturing him like she was his mother. With a painful twinge in his gut, he noticed that she was absentmindedly twisting her wedding band around her finger as she spoke.

Settling back down, Gracia spoke again, this time at a quieter level. "I know you Roy, and I know you've never told her in words what she truly means to you. Too often, the pair of you communicates wordlessly, just assuming that everything you're trying to say gets across. Most of the time, you both are in perfect sync and total understanding, but this one… I don't think this one came through all the way. You need to tell her, either in actions or words. Don't make her have to assume it on her own. Stop staying silent, and stop letting the military force you into pretending you don't care.

"Roy, Maes and I have always wanted you to be happy, and you're just making yourself miserable by pushing her away. Yes, he was eccentric at times, but I loved Maes with all my heart and sharing my life completely with him, for the time that we had, was the most satisfying and wonderful feeling in the world. I know that you and Riza could have that joy, that completion, too, if you'd just take it for yourselves. You've already made her wait this long, Roy, don't make her suffer for too much longer." Grabbing the door handle, she began to close the door behind her and then stopped midway to depart one last bit of advice. "She loves you Roy, but even she can't wait forever. Don't make her try." Closing the door with a quiet click, Gracia left Roy to his thoughts.

Tugging on his hair in frustration after she left, Roy found himself looking in the mirror and began examining his reflection, eager for a distraction. The scars marring the left side of his face had faded over the past years and were now much less obvious, though his eye was still as useless as ever. The lid had difficulty lifting correctly anymore, and the eye itself couldn't really see, aside from barely detecting light.

Considering how badly his plan had gone, making it out with just an eye lost was a low price to pay, in Roy's opinion. Sure, it had been awkward getting used to it, and he still didn't have much depth perception any more, but yesterday proved that he was still quite proficient with his alchemy. Through years of practice and use; he could still feel his way through situations, making the ability to judge the distance of the objects he was transmuting the air near almost unnecessary.

Staring at his scars, he admitted again that things could have been much worse that night, a line of thinking he didn't enjoy going down at all.

He could have lost Riza. After all, she had been shot; thankfully just in her shoulder. Only a few scant inches to the side though, and it could have been one of her lungs, her heart, her head…

Yes, he was quite thankful that she had been able to survive that ordeal relatively unscathed.

Her own injuries had healed quickly and for weeks, she had stayed by his side while he was a pitiful invalid, never leaving him alone. The memories of their days together had helped keep him warm in the icy north, images of her smiling as she helped him walk or made him dinner staying with him despite all else.

The Riza he had healed along-side had been completely different from the one in the office; she had been opening up to him like she had in the last months before he finished his studies with her father and joined the military, so long ago. The strict barriers between each other that they kept up to protect themselves from the ax of the military had dissolved and the woman watching over him had been warm and caring, tenderly helping him just as a quiet young girl had once shyly kept him company as he was thrust into a world without his family for the first time.

Those had been some of the happiest weeks of his life, before he had begun losing confidence in himself, questioning over and over again if he'd done the right things for himself, for the Elrics, for his team of subordinates, for her. Wondering what had ever happened to Edward Elric, having supposedly disappeared from Amestris completely, wondering where Riza's life would have taken her if he'd never studied alchemy with Hawkeye-Sensei, never lived with her and her father.

He would have given anything for those joyous days with Riza and Black Hayate to have continued indefinitely. It wasn't until later, freezing alone, that he realized the implications of his selfish desires for their future. The realization of losing her brought just what she was to him into stark definition and many pitiful nights had been spent recollecting how long he had unknowingly been in love and denying it.

Perhaps Gracia was right. After all, if what she said was true, Riza loved him, a thought that warmed his insides in way no fire ever could. Hearing it, even from someone that wasn't Riza, made it more real somehow. Long had he felt the pull between them, but only in recent years had he finally discovered what it meant; that it was so much more than the loyalty to him and his dreams that Riza carried within her and the respect he held for her. Surely, between the two of them, they could make it work, the military be damned; right?

Smiling at himself in the mirror, once again feeling the confidence in himself that had made him the effective State Alchemist that he was, Roy decided that enough was enough, and that dammit, he and Riza deserved to be happy, and he would do everything in his power to make it so. With pleased thoughts still in his head, Roy climbed into his borrowed bed, nearly asleep by the time his head hit the pillow.

* * *

_Not a terribly large amount is known about Gracia, in comparrison to other characters, but as a woman, I can easily see a devoted wife and loving mother like her being very protective of one of her friends, especially in the kind of relationships that the Hughes have in connection with Roy and in this story, Riza. Having once known the great joy that is love, and having had it taken away from her, she's passionate about the fact that they could share it with one another and aren't for reasons that she sees as foolish. Basically, I don't see Gracia as having moved out of character in going-off on Roy, and I'm explaining why. **-K** (ugh, I'm getting into the habit of adding comments to each chapter, not good.)_  



	8. Chapter 8

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

Riza was almost prepared to leave for the day and was feeding Black Hayate before she walked out the door when a flurry of knocks came from her front door. Smiling to her faithful companion, she patted his head as he started eating. "It seems that I've got another escort waiting for me for work this morning, huh, Hayate? Who would have thought that I'd ever be so popular?" He barked at her once in response, followed by a few happy pants before he buried his face in his bowl once again, gratefully devouring his breakfast. 

"Coming, Jean!" She called as she stood, placing the bag of dog food back in her cabinet before exiting her modest kitchenette. Grabbing her jacket of the back of her couch, Riza buttoned it quickly as she walked to the door.

She opened the door not to see the smiling face of her academy buddy, but the smirk of her superior officer she had known since childhood as he leaned against the doorjamb. Riza quickly got over the shock of seeing him awake so early and merely settled for being happy that he had been reunited with their team. "I'm sorry Hawkeye, were you waiting for someone else? Or did my name change and I missed the memo? We all know how bad I am at reading my paperwork," Roy Mustang said in a teasing voice.

Riza chuckled lightly as she exited her apartment, locking the door behind her. "No no, it's nothing like that, Sir. Havoc and I merely had a one-time walk to work together yesterday and I was wondering if he had returned unannounced to pick me up again. …I wasn't expecting you to be awake this early." Riza glanced at the wristwatch she wore beneath her sleeve on her wrist to make sure she was running on time, seeing that she was characteristically early as always. "It's usually at least another hour and a half before you arrive at the office, Sir."

"Well, that's because Gracia woke me up to the wonderful scents of breakfast, and with Elysia jumping on my bed, I didn't have much choice but to get up." Noticing that they were still just standing outside her door, Roy motioned for her to precede him down the hall. "Shall we?" Riza nodded at him and they set off for the office together.

"So, you're staying with Gracia, I take it?" Riza inquired, despite already knowing the answer. "I'm hoping that means their home was undamaged in the attack. It didn't seem like too much made its way toward our area of the city."

Roy nodded. "Thankfully, they were both home when it started and stayed put after barricading the doors. The waves of attack got close to their house, but never made it there. There was a bit of fallout from that plane in their yard, but it's been dealt with already. I see that just a few minutes away, your area of the city is virtually untouched."

"One of the few areas that were so lucky, unfortunately. It's going to take a long time and a lot of work before things are back to normal for most of the citizens of Central."

"Well, one of the forms that was in my stack of work we finished last night indicated that in addition to more troops, as many State Alchemists as could be reached are returning to the city to assist with the repairs, so that should help speed things up, at least a little."

Glancing over, he noticed that Riza was staring at him with her eyebrows raised. "What? I do read some of my paperwork."

Riza let out a little breath, not quite a full sigh, before answering. "I would prefer you read all of it, Sir."

"But it's so tedious," Roy whined. "If I read every slip of paper that came across my desk, we'd never leave."

"With all due respect, Sir, if you'd actually work during the day, you'd be able to finish your work and leave on time. The others get lucky because they don't have as much to do as you, so they can slack and still get done in time. Trust me, I've spent over a year and a half doing the paperwork for the head of the office, whom is now you again, Sir, and I assure you, the daily load can be done in a day, without staying late."

Roy stopped walking for a moment and turned to face Riza, tilting her chin up with his finger as he looked her in the eyes. "But if I did that, how would I get to spend time with you, Riza?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. It had been years since he'd called her by her given name when speaking to her, always addressing her by her surname when they were in uniform, and the few times he got to see her in their free time. He noticed that just barely, the bridge of her nose pinked, indicating that she had noticed the difference in addressing her as well. Excluding a few times where she had been addressed by the pseudonym "Elizabeth" over the phone while on a mission, he had been calling her Hawkeye for an awfully long time now.

Riza stared at him calmly though, as she usually did while in uniform, "You could always take me to dinner, Sir." She fought the smile that threatened to break out, barely managing to conceal her amusement at his startled face as he dropped his hand away from her chin.

Glancing at her watch again, Riza began walking once more. "Sir, we're going to be late if we continue stopping like we've been doing. After all, we've got work to do."

"Late for you is still early. Come to dinner with me," Roy said suddenly after he caught up with her.

"No," Riza said calmly, her serious façade never slipping.

"Why not?" He asked in disbelief, the surprise and confusion was evident in both his face and his voice as he spoke.

"Because, Sir," Riza said, her tone the same one she used when she explained why he couldn't toss his work in the trash and burn it all, "you've only asked because I just brought up the idea to you. It's rather unoriginal of you, Sir. You hate being outwitted when you think you're being clever."

Looking at her pitifully, Roy brooded the rest of the walk to Central Headquarters, the desire to cross his arm petulantly strong and hard to resist. Riza had almost as hard of a time not cracking a smile at his behavior and at the fact that regardless the circumstances, he had just asked her to dinner. Silently, she assured herself that she would accept his offer next time, even if she did make Amestris's most desired bachelor squirm a little first. After all, how often did any woman get the chance to see Roy Mustang when he wasn't assured his date before he asked for it? It was a truly amusing spectacle to behold, Riza thought evilly; he was so befuddled and was only a hairsbreadth away from pleading as he'd asked for her reason why not.

As they entered the office, they were greeted by Havoc as he was leaving, his coat tossed over the back of his chair carelessly, leaving him in the dark shirt he customarily wore beneath it. "Good morning, Taisa, Chuui," he said as he saluted informally on his way out the door.

Riza nodded her return greeting, while Roy spoke for the both of them. "Good morning Havoc, I assume we'll see you at lunch for a report on today's activities?" Idly, he wondered if Havoc was always as early as Riza, or if this was one of the many things that seemed to have changed in his absence.

Havoc smiled, the cigarette held in his lips bobbing with the motion. "Yes, Sir. I'll see you guys for lunch. Try not to get me too much paperwork today, Ma'am. I'd like to have a nice, leisurely afternoon in charge of the office, complete with as little work as possible."

Riza affectionately rolled her eyes as he left, making her way around the office to pick up the documents she had to deliver from each desk. "Sir, I just have to run these back to the dispatchers and the filing department, I'll be back in a few minutes with today's new work. Would you like me to get you your coffee while I'm gone?"

Taking his seat at his desk, Roy nodded. "Yes, thank you, Hawkeye." He thought for a moment, then amended his statement. "Actually, don't make extra trouble for yourself. Will you just bring me some tea? Like the kind you drink?"

Riza stopped for a moment in the doorway and looked at him curiously before nodding and addressing him one last time. "Alright. And Sir, please do try to remember that we'll be out in the city all afternoon. It would behoove you to start on your work left-over from last night, so that we can leave at a reasonable time tonight, Sir."

Grimacing, Roy nodded pitifully at her, acquiescing. "I'll do my best."

"Well, that's better than I was hoping for, Sir," Riza said, gracing him with a small smile as she departed, her arms filled with paperwork from yesterday.

In the time that Roy was waiting for Riza to return, Breda arrived, throwing a confused look at Roy as he entered before remembering to salute. He groggily said "good morning" and made his way over to his desk, laying his head down on the clear surface to catch some more sleep before Riza arrived with their work.

Roy was awfully pleased with himself by the time Riza returned. Aside from greeting Breda upon his arrival near the end of his wait, he'd managed to stay almost completely focused on his work, letting his mind wander only once or twice about getting to be outside this afternoon instead of behind his desk. It was probably one of his most productive hours in his office to date.

Seeing his subordinate return, he became even more pleased when he noticed the small stack of paper under her left arm, her right hand holding two teacups on her first two fingers. Nodding to one another, he continued reading the paper he was looking through while she carefully placed the cups on her desk before sorting through the stack of papers, walking around the office and distributing them to the necessary desks as she went.

When she approached the sleeping Breda, Roy couldn't help but look up to watch. Too many times had they been threatened with gunshots for slacking for him not to be curious. Instead of something so drastic, she merely placed her free hand on his back, the gentle touch rousing him from his light sleep.

"G'morning, Ma'am," he mumbled sleepily as he took the thin stack she held out to him. After a few moments of yawning and stretching, Breda set to work, leaving Roy in further shock. Had things changed this much since he'd been gone, or was this morning special?

Still distracted, he watched Riza as she walked back over to her desk and picked up one of the teacups, blowing lightly at the top as she approached his desk. "Here you go, Sir," she said as she handed him the porcelain cup, the liquid still steaming mistily into the air above the cup. She stood at his side, paperwork still in hand, waiting for him to try the beverage, it seemed.

Casting a look up at her, he brought the warm drink to his lips and took a tentative sip, finding it just a little sweet, but actually quite delicious. It reminded him of the lemon tea his mother used to make in his youth, and was much better than the bitter coffee he drank each day to get him started with enough caffeine to function. "Mmm… this is wonderful," he said, breathing in the steam rising from the cup. "What did you put in it?"

"I squeeze in orange juice when the tea is steeping, Sir, then add just a little bit of sugar."

"Where ever did you get the idea for that?" Roy asked, genuinely curious. He never would have thought to put orange in tea. He certainly liked it, he thought as he took another sip.

"Actually, Sir, I got the idea from you, years ago," she replied as she finally placed the stack of paperwork on his desk. Seeing his confusion, she elaborated. "You once told me at breakfast about the tea that your mother made, but all we had in the house were oranges, so I tried to duplicate it with those. Tea by its nature is a little too bitter for my tastes, hence the sugar." Glancing at his desk, she noticed the stack of finished work and smiled before continuing. "If you like, Sir, I could make you some each morning instead of your usual coffee."

"Thank you, Hawkeye," Roy said, noting the smile over his finished work proudly. "I think I'd like that." Riza nodded and was about to turn away when Roy reached out and stopped her with a hand on her arm. "About earlier…"

"Sir?"

He gestured to Breda with his free hand. "You calmly waking him up instead of the usual threats and guns, is that… the usual way things go now?"

Riza, staring at the hand still holding her arm, pulled her gaze up to Roy's at his question. "Actually, Sir, in recent months, work around the office has been pretty steady. We've had a few bumpy spots along the way, but the men have had better work ethics than ever in the past few weeks."

Roy frowned. "Am I really that bad of an influence?"

Riza blinked a few times in confusion as she looked into his good eye, the onyx orb staring her down. "I never meant to imply that, Sir. I was merely commenting that drastic efforts at motivation are no longer as necessary as they once were." For a moment, she considered her next words before she spoke again. "I think… that it wouldn't be all bad for the office to be lively like it once was again, even if I have to pull late nights to help get the paperwork done once more." Roy was about to say something, but Riza cut him off smoothly, continuing to speak. "I meant what I said, Sir. We're all glad to have you back with us."

"Hawkeye, I—"

"It would be best if you got back to work, Sir. The paperwork load for today is moderately light, but there are still things from last night that need finished. However, I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised by the amount you have already completed."

With that, she bowed her head in a nod and escaped to her own desk, sipping her tea as she read over the top form on her own stack of work.

Frowning, Roy decided that he would corner her later about the office situation. If things truly ran more smoothly without his presence… well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

* * *

_I'm trying to stay on an every-other-day schedule for updating this, but with the exhausting pandemonium of the night shifts on a weekend, and the fact that certain parts of the next chapter are fighting me, it may be late. I'm going to try to have it ready for late-night monday, early-morning tuesday, but no promises. It's by far the longest chapter yet, and it keeps growing with each time I go through it and fix things. **-K**_


	9. Chapter 9

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

Riza hid the grin threatening to break out on her face behind her large clipboard as she followed behind Roy. She had always thought he looked incredibly handsome in just his shirtsleeves and with the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled to the elbows, the top two buttons undone from the heat, he looked especially alluring. His ebony hair, as tousled as it always seemed to be, was shining in the bright sun and waving ever so gently in the weak breeze that would blow by every so often. The image he presented was irresistibly delightful and made it difficult for Riza to draw her eyes away from him long enough to stay on top of her work. The fact that he was radiating joy at working outside instead of behind his desk made him all the more appealing to watch as he laughed and joked with their crew, his visible eye sparkling with mirth and joviality whenever he would turn his attention to Riza. 

He'd discarded his jacket before they'd even gone to lunch, stating that he would be moving around a lot and drawing a lot of transmutation circles, insisting that it would inhibit his work; an explanation that Riza had been all-too-willing to accept before they had departed the office together. She certainly wasn't going to force him to stay in his jacket as they worked in the much more relaxed environment presented to them outdoors with Alex Armstrong. She hadn't been able to help herself and had spent their lunch break surreptitiously stealing glances at him out of the corners of her eyes. Having caught her in the act a few times, Havoc had nudged her foot and smirked at her when the others weren't looking no less than 14 times during their meal as the others caught them up on what they had done for the day, and told Roy stories about life in general in Central over the past few months. She kicked him back covertly a few times to get even, but not very hard. Fortunately for Riza, he'd been the only one to notice her watching their superior during the meal. She knew that the only reason he'd even seen her was that he knew to look; surely the others didn't know that she would ever be so girlish as to steal secret glances at their superior, whatever their thoughts on their relationship may be.

Even including her footsie war with Havoc, lunch had been an enjoyable affair; less about their work repairing the city and more about what Roy had missed out on in the gossip chain during his sabbatical to the north. Havoc had been particularly happy to point out that he and Sheska had dated for an entire month before their vastly differing work schedules had forced them to admit that for the time being, a relationship would be too much work to maintain than they could afford. Breda had made a crack about her liking her books more than Havoc, but Feury had come to Havoc's rescue, pointing out that they still went out to dinner a lot for a pair of people that weren't dating. Havoc had practically beamed, blowing a lungful of smoke in Breda's face in retaliation for the previous snarky remark.

At Roy's confusion over the situation, Falman described to him in great detail the legislation doing away with the fraternization laws, citing various passages from memory for the Flame Alchemist. Glancing up from her lunch during the oration, Riza found Havoc smirking at Roy, who seemed deep in thought and delighted at the same time. If she'd looked away from Havoc or her food, she would have seen that Roy was suddenly stealing as many covert glances as she had earlier once Falman had finished explaining everything for him. Feeling Havoc's boot nudge her foot once again, Riza stepped on his toes as she went back to stirring her steaming cup of tea calmly. The wince she saw out of the corner of her eye had been enough for her to consider her vengeance upon her friend achieved.

Riza smiled fondly at the pleasant recollection of their earlier meal, realizing it had been a long time since she'd truly had that much fun at lunch. Hopefully, their team would continue eating as a group as time went on; it was one of the few times they could be so relaxed and casual with one another. All too soon though, Havoc and the others had left to return to the office as she, Roy, and Breda had exited the building to put in their shifts with the repair crews.

Working with Roy and Alex Armstrong had been even more fun than she had first anticipated it would be, as the overall mood in their group was lively. Of all the crews, the alchemical ones had the advantage of seeing the most in terms of results and it made keeping morale high while working impressively easy. Already, they'd managed to restore an entire block and a half on both sides of the street and they hadn't been out working for very long yet.

At the moment, she'd already passed on instructions to her workers about what the next set of houses they were working on repairing had been composed of, and the men were gathering materials while Roy was drawing out transmutation circles and Armstrong was pleasantly sparkling and flexing away while talking with his foreman, her "partner" of sorts.

She was seated on a newly fixed stone fence, some distance away from the rest of her crew as they talked amongst themselves and joked with one another. She was pleased that the men were so jovial as they worked out in the heat, but she needed a bit quieter surroundings for reading through the lists she was responsible for checking and following.

So far, keeping on top of things had been fairly simple, even with her constant visual distractions and given the fact that they were well ahead of schedule. They were still waiting on some supplies to arrive for some of the houses, but taking care of shipments to the site was the concern of Armstrong's aide; Riza merely organized things for their half of the crew. Immersing herself in the relative quiet, Riza caught up on updating her forms to indicate the finished buildings and the materials used in each one, making sure to keep the architectural plans for each location organized as well.

A shadow came over the paper she was reading and looking up, she found Roy hovering at the end of her clipboard, less than two feet away from her. "How are things going?" he asked conversationally, rubbing at his sweaty forehead with the back of his wrist. Her eyes desperately wanted to trail down towards the inviting skin bared by his opened shirt, and she lied to herself yet again that she was feeling so warm because she had kept her jacket on out in the warm sunshine. Steeling herself against the many temptations Roy presented, she forced her attention elsewhere, at least for the time being. Catching a glimpse of his hand, she noticed that the chalk he was using was starting to get short again and reached into her pocket with her free hand; a quick count reassuring her that she still had plenty with her to last him throughout the day.

"Things are flowing along ahead of schedule so far, Sir. Both halves of our team are working at a wonderful pace." Roy nodded in response as she studied him for a few moments, her attention drawn to his careworn features. "Sir? You're not pushing yourself too hard are you? We can slow down if you need to rest more between houses."

Roy waved her off with a flick of his hand. "It's not that. Aside from feeling a little warm in this heat, I'm fine."

"Then, what's bothering you, Taisa?"

For long quiet moments that seemed to stretch on forever, Roy stared at his shoes before directing his gaze back up to his assistant. "Were things really running better without me in the office? You avoided answering earlier, Hawkeye. I need to know if I'm going to hinder our team more than help it."

Sighing deeply, which was rare for Riza to allow herself to do while working, she locked her gaze with Roy's. "I told you, we're glad to have you back, Sir."

"You're still avoiding actually answering my question."

"No, you will not have any negative effects on the team by returning." Her annoyance at his continued questioning of the topic was obvious in her automatic, thoughtless answer.

"Chuui." He tried looking pitifully to get her to her to answer him seriously.

"It's fine, Sir." She really didn't want to get into this at the moment with him.

"Hawkeye." He was looking at her now with an expression like someone had kicked his dog, despite the fact that Riza was the only member of their team with a pet. She idly wondered how he had mastered such a pitiful expression before uncharacteristically sighing a second time and scowling at him.

"Taisa," she said irritably.

"Riza." Now, it apparently was a puppy, and had been kicked into traffic, judging by his overly-dramatic look of distress as he stared his subordinate down.

Riza slumped her shoulders in defeat, never moving her gaze from Roy's face. She knew that he wouldn't let up if she kept avoiding the issue, because it seemed to be bothering him a great deal. It was rare for him to act this exceptionally pathetic when needling Riza about anything. With a small huff, she placed her clipboard on the bench beside her and placed her hands on the shoulders of the man leaning down in front of her to be at her eye level. She took a deep breath and then let it out in another sigh before finally launching into her explanation. "A large portion of the heightened worth ethics in the men was a matter of distraction. If everyone was working diligently, we wouldn't focus on the missing part of our team, on the fact that man we all respected and followed loyally was no longer among us. If things go back to how they were and your bad work habits influence the others again, that's ok with me, Sir. If we have to stay late every night again, that's ok with me too. If things are no longer filed on time and I have to go back to making excuses for your late reports because I'm not in charge anymore… that's all okay with me, as long as you're back, a part of our team again, Roy Mustang." Slowly, she let her hands fall from his shoulders. "If you're back, none of that matters…"

Roy caught one of Riza's hands in his as he finally spoke. "Hawkeye… Riza, I think that–"

"Miss Hawkeye, is your team ready!" Alex Armstrong called out from half a block away, the cheer in his voice audible over the distance and the level of volume making Roy cringe. Riza almost chuckled as she felt his fingers twitch around her hand and was glad for their companion's sake that Roy's gloves were safely within his pocket and not currently adorning his hands.

"I think that I'm going to torch that man, and his sparkles, some day." Roy said with a sigh of frustration; squeezing Riza's hand once before letting it go and rubbing his palms over his face angrily. "We'll talk about this later."

Nodding, Riza began jogging over to where Armstrong and his assistant, one of his old subordinates that Riza had met only once or twice in passing, were going over their charts together. "Sir, things are almost finished with the first few houses, but we're still waiting on some materials for the remaining half," Riza supplied, handing over their own set of charts to the other foreman to examine.

A quick glance over her tidy records, and the man returned the clipboard to Riza was a nod and friendly smile. "I see. Well, why don't you two go ahead and start on the houses that are ready whenever you want. It seems that we're also having trouble tracking down materials, so we're going to be a bit delayed on starting our next set."

Clapping his hand on the shoulder of his assistant, Armstrong smiled cheerily, but the man flinched under the force of the blow. "Weiss here is going to go investigate the hold-up on supplies and I promise we'll let you know what's going on as soon as we can contact some of the moving crews and get things straightened out."

"Yes, Sir." Riza replied with a nod, trotting off to the first house on their list. Roy was already there and was looking over the list she had left with the men that were setting up. As the crew did a double check to make sure they had everything they needed, she quickly brought Roy up to speed on the materials situation.

"So, they just want us to go ahead and get these first few houses done?" Roy was idly popping his knuckles as he checked over his transmutation circle once again, making sure there were no errors in the drawing. Nodding an 'ok' to the men, they began moving their meticulously stacked materials into the center of the ring, carefully avoiding the lines on the ground. All of this, Riza watched with vigilant eyes, checking the materials on her written list and looking over the circle critically.

Her father had taught her a great deal about alchemy in her younger years before taking Roy on as his student and as a result, she was quite adept at recognizing different components in alchemical circles and what each one did. Despite the distance that eventually formed between her and her father, and her mixed feelings on alchemy after Ishbal, she still retained her knowledge on the subject, allowing her to serve as a fail-safe for Roy in the event that he had mistaken his drawings. He didn't have the luxury of specialized material-transmutation gauntlets that Armstrong wore and had to draw each circle by hand, a practice he'd not done regularly in a long time. So far, there had been no trouble. It seemed that time did not wear down Roy's skills, even if he was used to working with air and gases rather than solids.

Finally giving the signal that everything was prepared, the men stood back and Roy slipped his chalk into his pocket, looking to Riza for the ok to continue. Nodding, she took a few steps back from Roy's side and watched as he knelt and placed his fingertips to the outer rim of the circle.

The men gaped as they had been doing all afternoon as a house slowly built itself from the ground up out of the precisely placed materials. After a few moments, the light from the transmutation cleared and a completed building stood where there was once rubble strewed across the ground in the wake of the attacks.

Roy paused to catch his breath before finally standing, his wrist wiping against his forehead again unconsciously as he surveyed his work. Smiling proudly back at Riza, he motioned for the team to begin setting up for the next house. "See, no problem," he said in allusion to her earlier worries over his health. "It's just going back to the basics. I've been doing this stuff for years now, a lot longer than I've been the Flame Alchemist."

"I know, Sir." Riza said as she began going over the schematics for the next building. "I was there when you were learning it, if you recall."

Reading the list over her shoulder as the men began laying things out in the pre-drawn circle, he brought a hand up to rest on her shoulder. "I seem to recall Sensei having a quiet little daughter that helped me study sometimes, that everyone told me was spirited and boyish, but stand-offish when left to her own devices. Both are far cry from the serious gun-slinging woman standing before me." Riza could feel the heat of his breath as he spoke, the slight tickle as it blew stray hairs against her neck and cheek into movement.

"Sir, I haven't really changed that much over the years. Different people got to know different parts of me better than others, that's all. I'm serious in the office and on missions because we're working. Around the lot of you, someone needs to stay focused." She diligently kept her eyes on the papers in her hands, trying to push the thoughts about the body heat she could feel through her coat far from her mind. "I've never been terribly outgoing, but once I am comfortable enough with a person, opening up to them is much easier. Surely you know this by now, better than anyone. I enjoyed spending time with my mother before she died, but after that I was left to my own devices as father worked on his studies. Hence, my interests shifted from the feminine things I did with my mother to things that I could do alone, many of them away from the house and a sight more eventful than cooking and sewing."

Pausing from her recollection, she began inspecting the layout of materials and the drawing of the circle, then discovered that Roy was still following her, his attentive silence indicative of his desire for her to continue as he darkened a few of the lines in the circle beside her. "I never felt any desire to get close to the children I had attended school with, nor did I try to become friendly with the people in town that did nothing when my mother was ill, or when my father died. Thus many of the people that have opinions about me see me as being a loner. I do have friends though, so I don't push everyone away."

"And what about me?"

She looked at him for a few moments before finally answering. "When you first arrived, you were merely another distraction for my father, so you had no real effect on my life for the most part. Then we got to know each other as we became older, due largely to the fact that we shared the same living space."

Raising an eyebrow, Roy watched her. "Friendship through familiarity?"

Casting him an annoyed glance with an expression that practically audibly said "honestly," in a chastising tone, she pulled one of the pieces of chalk from her pocket and handed it to him, plucking the tiny stub that had been in his fingers away from him before continuing her exposition. "Sir, the level of understanding we now have has little to do with getting to know you better because we were spending time together. There are many people I would say I know well that I do not trust, not in the way I have committed myself to you and your goals. When we were finally becoming comfortable around one another, if I had not seen something then worth trusting, I would never have given you my trust in the first place. I would not still be following you now, years upon years later either; especially considering the large number of troublesome messes you've managed to get me into, directly and indirectly." Finally looking up at him, she saw that he was, as she had suspected he would be, staring at her intently, the new piece of chalk forgotten in his hand. "Sir, if you're ready, everything is in place for the next transmutation." Handing him her clipboard, she pointed to the schematics for the house they stood before.

After studying them for a few moments to commit them to his memory, he returned her clipboard and set to work in a similar fashion to the last house, and all the others they had done so far that afternoon.

Waiting for the men as they worked on setting up the next house for him, he went back to his questioning with his assistant. "So tell me, Hawkeye, what did I end up doing to deserve your trust?"

She looked up at him curiously, seeing only intrigue shining in his bright onyx gaze. "In all honesty, Sir, it started on its own. It began before you left my father to join the military. Even if I hadn't been consciously aware, part of me recognized that you were growing into a good man." Watching the men work, she leaned against one of the pillars to the front porch of the house Roy had just transmuted.

"Really?" Roy asked, watching her as he leaned beside her.

"Yes. It was starting before you left, when we were both older, some time late in your studies, once we'd begun spending time around one another more. One day, we were talking about something, I can't even recall what the conversation started with anymore, and I realized that I was beginning to trust you. I became aware of that fact that I was tentatively forming a bond with you similar to the connection I'd once shared with my mother, without having fully noticed it before then." She could hear her voice tremble ever so slightly as she relayed the intimate admission to her superior officer and almost jumped when she felt him take her free hand in his, the motion hidden from view to a casual observer by the way they were situated.

"That was the day you told me about your mother, wasn't it?" Roy asked, looking at her with concern. Riza nodded. "I remember that afternoon. It was one of the first times we really spoke to each other."

Riza nodded again. "You told me all about how your mother met your father, and about your family. You gave me a set of your mother's old robes from Xing that day, too. Her old robes that you'd brought with you from home to remind you of your family. I've still got them." She paused for a moment and took solace from the feel of his warm hand, gloveless for a change, encompassing hers. It was rare for them to speak freely about the past like this with one another. So often had they communicated wordlessly in the passing years, that at the times words had been needed to explain something, they'd never come. "By the time you came back and father died, and you stayed and helped me deal with all that, I realized that I trusted you enough to put faith in your dreams and I gave you the secrets to father's research. I believed in your dream enough to contact the military academy and join up, in order to help make that dream a reality. …I never expected Ishbal to happen."

Gripping her hand more tightly in his, Roy closed his eye in a vain effort to fight off the painful memories the mere name dredged up within him. "I don't think anyone expected that to happen…" he said, his voice a harsh whisper.

"Up until then, the military for me had been tame; the limits of my excitement were keeping Jean Havoc and our other friends out of trouble and learning that I was a natural gunner with impeccable aim. Ishbal was a living nightmare that no one could escape from. By the end of it all, I was left hallowed and disillusioned. As everyone was celebrating the return home, I was raging at myself and angry about everything." Returning his tight grasp, she glanced over at him. "You know this, I told you then, when we were preparing to leave."

Roy nodded. "You weren't alone. It was only because Maes and I realized the path to become Führer lay before me, if I wanted to truly make my goals a reality, that I was able to stay sane and focused after the killing was over. That's why, when I discovered that you had remained in the service after I… after we dealt with your father's research, I knew that I could trust you to join me on the road ahead. I knew that you would stay on watch, to keep me and my men safe and to keep me in check and cut off corruption if it ever began. I knew that I could put my life in yours hands." Grazing his thumb over her knuckles, Roy finally opened his eye again, his gaze still unfocused with recollection. "I knew that I could trust you to help protect my dream, even if it was from myself."

Letting her fingers slip from his comforting grasp, Riza pushed herself upright and dusted imaginary debris off her uniform where she had been propped against the building. "By the time our paths crossed again back at Eastern Headquarters, I could see your ambition and motivation in your eyes once more, and gave your dream another chance. It wasn't long before I was a believer again, reunited by chance with you and with Havoc and falling into place as part of a group of individuals that were all quickly becoming believers too. Since that day, my trust and loyalty have not wavered in you, Sir." Realizing as she made her back over to their team that Roy wasn't walking behind her, she stopped and turned, seeing him staring hard at the ground a few feet away from her.

Looking up, his gaze pierced her and her breath caught in her throat at the intensity. "Riza, you and the others, your belief in me, has made coming this far possible. Knowing that all of you are behind my goals gives me the ability to keep going, to make it as far as I can, so that we can help as many of the people of Amestris as we can reach."

Returning his stare evenly, Riza finally smiled warmly. "I know, Sir. That's why we're all still here."

Roy returned the warm look and finally detracted himself from his spot on the porch, following Riza in comfortable silence to the next home. As they had been doing all afternoon, she was checking the list as he was making last minute touch-ups to his transmutation circle and soon, everything was in place for another work of alchemy to occur.

As Roy was kneeling on the ground, staring at the finished building while he caught his breath, he realized something and started to laugh. Riza watched him curiously for a few minutes while he chuckled before finally giving in and asking him what he was doing and what was so funny.

Bracing his hands on his knees, he pushed himself up and stood, still laughing a bit as he answered. "This. Us. What we're doing."

"Sir?"

"Look around, Hawkeye. We're finally using my alchemy talents purely for the good of the people of Amestris. This is what I'd planned when I first became joined the military, and when I later became a State Alchemist. We're finally helping the citizens of Central."

Letting the smile the thought invoked come to her face, Riza let out a few good-natured chuckles of her own. "It's about time."

"No," Roy said as they both made their way with the team to the next site. "It's long overdue." A comfortable silence reigned again until Riza examined her records, clicking her tongue against her teeth in a small noise of frustration. "What's wrong?"

"It appears, Sir, that we've run out of houses to which we have all the necessary materials. We can't do anything until Weiss is able to get back to us and we can get the problem straightened out."

Cupping his hands over his mouth, Roy addressed their half of the crew. "You men heard Hawkeye-Chuui. Until we can get the rest of our necessary supplies, we're stuck. I guess that means we're on break until we can get more things delivered." The cheer that resounded after the fact was excited and good-humored as the men started talking amongst themselves, some walking back up and down the street to examine the finished houses more closely. "So," Roy began, bracing the backs of his wrists against his hips as he directed his attention once again towards Riza. "What are we supposed to do in the interim?"

"We're on break too, Sir. There's nothing else for us to do, because we're ahead of schedule, even with the hold-up."

Placing a hand against her back, Roy began to lead Riza over to one of the empty carts littering the street where they were working. "Come and sit with me then, and we can continue talking." Letting him guide her, Riza followed Roy and sat beside him on the back of the wooden cart, her booted feet dangling above the ground once she was seated. Ever the work-minded one while they were on duty, Riza automatically began looking through the charts for the remaining work for the day, updating her notes of what had been finished and what was in various stages of completion up until then. For almost twenty minutes, Roy was content to sit and just watch her work.

However, eventually Gracia's comments from the night before and Falman's discourse about inter-office fraternization drifted back into his head as he was admiring the sunlight shining off her hair and before he realized it, he was speaking. "Come to dinner with me, Riza."

Setting her clipboard down in her lap, Riza slowly turned her gaze toward him. "Sir?"

"I mean it. I want you to go out to dinner with me sometime."

After blinking a few times and staring, Riza finally replied, "Why?"

"Because I want you to," Roy answered automatically. Seeing Riza's look, half confusion, half amusement, he continued. "I want to be able to spend time with you outside the office. I want to take you out. Come have dinner with me. Please don't say no again."

By now, she was starting to smirk at him, and he was beginning to realize that for all the hordes of women he'd dated, he sure was having an awfully difficult time not looking stupid as he spoke to Riza. He was just saying things as they came to mind, his usual abilities to sweet-talk having failed him. He had resorted to rambling in short phrases. "Sir, are you asking me out to dinner, as in a date?"

She wasn't making this run any more smoothly, he noted to himself. He grimaced at her as he noticed her delight. "Dammit Riza, you're not making this any easier. And stop calling me 'Sir.' It's making this even more awkward. I already feel 15 again."

"Sorry, Taisa," Riza answered, grinning. She knew that was right up there with "Sir" as detached military addresses and far cry from what he wanted to hear as he tried to talk her into coming to dinner with him. She couldn't help but let her mirth as the situation show.

Roy couldn't believe it; she was actually grinning at him, and teasing him. She was getting entertainment out of seeing him squirm as he tried to ask her out. This was unfair or so many levels. "Riza," he groaned, partially menacingly, mostly pitifully as he leaned forward to try to emphasize the "menace" part more.

"Roy," Riza said back at him, imitating the way he'd drawn out her name as she too drew closer.

Closing the distance, Roy leaned his forehead against hers, trapping their bangs between them as he looked at her intently. "Will you please come to dinner with me, Riza?" he asked, his voice quieter now that they were so close. One of his hands reached out and took one of hers as he awaited her response.

"I don't see any reason why I shouldn't," Riza finally whispered back, enjoying the feel of his thumb as it began to idly stroke across her knuckles. She was really beginning to form an attachment to the feeling of the pad of his thumb caressing her hand.

"Tonight?"

Riza shook her head, mostly a tilt side to side as it was still resting against Roy's. "Even working as quickly as our team is, we'll probably be working late tonight, and we'll be tired. We have tomorrow off. Let's do it then."

"Really?" Roy asked happily, pulling back to look at Riza's entire face so he could take in her expression.

She laughed at him. "I said yes, didn't I? Why would I back out thirty seconds later?"

"I had to fight to get that yes, you're relentless."

"Sorry, just a bit of fun." She directed her attention to their hands for a moment and just watched as the pad of his thumb moved across the back of her hand. It was almost as hypnotic to watch as it was soothing to feel. "I'm not used to adorably fumbling Roy Mustang. The Taisa around the office had confidence to spare when it came to women."

Leaning forward once more, Roy brought his mouth close to Riza's ear and whispered, "He was an idiot." Just as his lips were about to graze her cheek, a hearty "Miss Riza!" from Armstrong startled the pair and they jerked apart a few inches in shock.

"I've just gotten news from Weiss!" Armstrong said happily as he neared them from the other side of the cart, oblivious to the tender moment he'd just interrupted. "The next shipments of supplies should be arriving in a few minutes and we'll be able to get back to work." The man cheerily moved on to inform the crewmen, not that they hadn't already heard his exuberant shouts, leaving an almost tangible trail of sparkles and mirth in his wake.

Roy's fingers on his right hand were twitching once again with the urge to snap, despite his gloves still being in his pockets. "I swear, if he does that one more time when I'm talking to you, or in this case, about to kiss you, I'll fry him."

Riza's cheeks pinked at his words and before Roy knew what was happening, warm lips were pressed against his cheek in a kiss and Riza was smiling shyly as she pulled away from him. "We need to get back to work, Roy." Hearing his name instead of "Sir" or "Taisa" he grinned goofily as he stood, lending Riza a gentlemanly hand and assisting her down from the cart, even though she didn't really need the help to jump down the few inches to the ground. Neither felt keen to point out her capability at such a mundane thing as they held one another's hands yet again. Their fingers lingered together for a few more moments as their eyes met before finally releasing their clasped hands as they went to rejoin their team.

"I guess we can always sort out the details later," Roy said as he followed his assistant back over to where the men were waiting for them and for the arriving wagon filled with building materials. "For the moment, let's get back to putting alchemy to good use," he said as he grinned giddily down at Riza, his hand finding its way to the small of her back as they walked together. He couldn't do a thing about the smile threatening to split his face, but really didn't are. Things were looking a lot more positive than they had in a long, long time.

* * *

_I appologize if there's any glaring mistakes in this. Every time I tried to read through it, I kept adding to it and tweaking things, and it got to the point where I would think "Oh, idea would go perfectly here" only to find out that I'd already thought of that before and had added that section a paragraph later. After about twenty revisions and additions, I'm finally just going to step away from this chapter and post it.  
_

_It may be a few days before I update again, because I'm now in a slight writing rut. I had almost the entire chapter 10 finished, and then decided I didn't like it at all, so I'm going to rewrite it from scratch and see if I can get a better scene in my head this time around. Sorry for the upcoming delay. **-K**_


	10. Chapter 10

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

Havoc looked up from his final few sheets of paperwork as he heard the door to their team's office open and waved in greeting to his superiors as they entered together. He smiled around his cigarette as he noticed that their physical presence was more of a single unit than two distinct people. Riza had her arms wrapped around her large clipboard, but her face was clearly tilted up towards Roy as she listened to what he was saying to her. For his part, his right hand was situated casually in his pocket, but the left was resting on Riza's back, up near her shoulders, as he too had his attention turned towards his partner.

It seemed to Havoc that his wave went completely unnoticed by the pair as they continued their quiet conversation, not really whispers but still muted, private. He noted with an additional smirk that the image they made was very wholesomely intimate; it was rather sweet when you got down to it. Immediately, he knew that something must have happened today when they were out working together; their entire personal dynamic, having remained unchanged for years excepting high-emotionally spawned slip-ups, was radically different from the norm. He felt a warm rush of joy as he watched the two of them interact so easily with one another. They'd always been beyond comfortable together, but something about it now was different, more romantic than their past interactions had ever seemed. There was something exceptionally right about the feelings he picked up while watching them.

"Welcome back, Taisa, Chuui. How'd things go for your first afternoon?" Havoc finally asked, breaking the pair from their distractions with one another. Upon Havoc's greeting, both looked up at him and nodded back in their own greetings before slowly moving apart. Obviously, the notion of him having seen them so casual with one another seemed not to bother them as acted as if nothing was amiss or different than usual.

"Things went very well," Riza supplied as she made her way over to her desk. "It was pretty warm outside, but all in all, it was actually quite enjoyable." As she said that last part, Havoc raised his eyebrows, then motioned to Roy with a tilt of his head, getting a small nod in return. Roy was currently sorting through the remaining paperwork on his desk and missed the non-verbal exchange, fortunately. Continuing with her explanation to cover for Havoc's sneaky inquiry, Riza went on. "We repaired far more of the city than our team had first anticipated we would when we started. We actually had to get more sections of the city layout delivered to our team to continue working, because we got so far ahead of schedule." As she spoke, her eyes kept straying to Roy as he was working at his desk and then guiltily finding their way back to Havoc each time.

Letting his cigarette dangle from his lips, he winked at Riza and let out a low whistle. "Good to hear, Ma'am." Seeing that Roy had looked up at him upon hearing the shrill noise, Havoc smoothly went back to discussing the repairs. "Well, Taisa, it sounds like your team is a sight better organized than ours. We got done with our scheduled area of town before lunch, but just barely. I guess you're just a better alchemist, eh?" Directing Roy's attention to himself was one of Havoc's trademark tried-and-true methods of deflecting an inquiry about his actions.

"I suppose so," Roy said proudly as he buffed his fingernails on his shirt, not even bothering with any sort of fake modesty. Riza merely rolled her eyes as she finished signing off on the last reports that had remained unfinished by the time lunch had arrived.

"Ah, it's good to have our cocky, confident peacock of a Taisa back," Havoc said with good-natured teasing in his voice as he took a drag off his cigarette. "He's damn good at what he does, and boy does he know it." Looking up at the clock, Havoc noticed that the others had all left the office over an hour ago, having left him to finish his remaining paperwork alone for longer than he'd thought it had been. Quickly scribbling his name at the bottom of his final two reports, he set his pen down and sighed while getting up from his chair and stretching. He was more than ready to get home and soak in his tub for the evening, his muscles were sore all over from lifting things that morning. He had muscles aching that he hadn't even known he had in the first place.

Checking that he was indeed finished for the evening, he gathered up his completed work and placed it all on the far corner of his desk for Feury to collect tomorrow morning as he stood. "Well, Sir, Ma'am, I'm done for the night, so I'll see the two of you around. I've got the day off tomorrow, but I'm back in the following day for more work." Tossing his uniform jacket over his shoulder, he saluted to his superiors once he reached the doorway.

As soon as Roy brought his attention to his desk once more, Havoc grinned wildly as he made a hand representation of a phone next to his head and pointed at Riza before turning and leaving the office without waiting for her to accept or deny his plea for a phone call, most likely to inquire the details about the past afternoon. For a few moments, she watched his retreating figure before shaking her head and going back to finishing her work. After almost half an hour, she heard the scribbles of Roy's pen cease, and looked up to ask whether or not he was done.

Instead of working, or celebrating that he was finished, Riza discovered that Roy was dialing the phone that sat on his desk, his work still in its usual haphazard piles on his desk. "Hi, how are you doing?" he asked in the receiver. Curious, Riza set her pen down and leaned her cheek against one hand, the elbow braced on the desktop.

"Yes, we're just finishing up here. No, nothing's wrong. Things this afternoon went fine, better than fine. Actually, I was going to ask if you could make extra for dinner this evening. Yes, that's right. Not much longer. Ok, we'll see you soon, thanks again. Uh-huh. Goodbye." Roy placed the phone back in the cradle triumphantly, smirking at Riza when he noticed he had caught her attention.

"Sir?" she asked, sitting upright once more.

Standing from his desk, Roy reached around behind him and fetched his uniform jacket from his chair back. "Hawkeye, I have decided that I'm done with my paperwork for the evening. Everything that needs to be in before I get back is completed, and I'm less behind on the rest than I usually am. We're going home."

Staring at him for a few moments, Riza wasn't sure if she wanted to force him to sit back down and work or just leave with him. She almost glanced at the clock out of curiosity, but decided against it. Just this once, she would let him decide to leave without his work finished, if he really was as far through it as he said he was. After all, it had been a busy, tiring day, and she could use some relaxation, herself. "Sir, I–"

"Also, you're coming home with me, and eating the dinner that Gracia has so kindly prepared, because you shouldn't have to cook for yourself after such a long day in the heat. To refuse now, after she's gone to the trouble of including you would be rude." Buttoning the front clasps on his jacket, Roy departed his desk and approached the light switch by the door. "Coming?"

Rolling her eyes skyward as she approached him, Riza chastised Roy. "Honestly, Sir. I would have said yes if you asked me. You didn't have to try to force me to join you and Gracia."

Flicking the switch, Roy brought his face close to Riza's in the darkness that flooded the room. "I didn't want to take any chances."

Breaking away, Riza began down the hallway, pausing only when she heard Roy pull out his key ring and lock the office. The pair began walking in silence and after a few minutes, Roy's hand once again found its way to Riza's back, where it had resided more times than she could recall already that afternoon. Ordinarily, she would have gotten angry at any man that did that to her so frequently, as though he were leading her around; but for some reason, when it was Roy gently resting his palm and fingertips against her back, the action became sweet. It was somehow intimate in a way that didn't leave her uncomfortable when others had seen him doing it throughout the day.

As the pair exited the main entrance of Headquarters, the warm evening air washed over them anew and Roy began to fidget with his jacket. "I got used to having this off all day," Roy complained as they descended the large staircase leading to the front doors. "It's too hot out for these uniforms." In a quick motion, he removed the jacket he had just replaced, draping it over his forearm. Casting a glance over at Riza, he watched, transfixed, as a droplet of sweat beaded up along the back of her neck and trailed down into the high neck of the jacket before soaking into the material and disappearing out of sight. "Come on," Roy offered, nudging her in the side to get her attention. "I'll carry your coat for you."

Shaking her head, Riza smiled up at Roy. "It's ok, Sir. I'm fine. It's really not that hot out at the moment. It's much cooler now than it was this afternoon."

Roy frowned at her before answering. "I don't think that makes me feel any better. That just means that you were roasting all afternoon too. I told you, it's too warm out. Let me carry your jacket, Riza." He gazed at her imploringly, holding out his jacket-adorned arm to take hers as well.

Sighing resignedly, Riza gave in and quickly unbuttoned her jacket, allowing Roy to take hold of the back and help her out of the sleeves of the heavy cotton fabric. She hated it admit it, but she was much more comfortable without the thick coat, left in her tight-weave dark shirt that she wore each day beneath her jacket. Her holsters were clearly visible now though, something she generally tried to avoid if possible. However, she knew that Roy's ignition gloves were still in his pockets, and trusted that between the two of them, they could handle any trouble that may arise, even if she had lost her element of surprise.

Glancing up, she saw that Roy was watching her again and she willed herself not to blush under his close scrutiny. She was still unused to him publicly looking at her as anything besides his bodyguard, and his attention was flattering, yet made her nervous. After all, this was the man that could have any woman in Central and here was his attention focused on her, probably one of the least feminine women he knew. True, they knew each other almost as well as they knew themselves, but there was still that niggling self-consciousness that all women felt when under inspection by a man. It was only magnified when emotions were involved such as theirs.

Before she knew what was happening, so intently was she returning his gaze, his hand had reached up and plucked out her hair clip again, letting her flaxen locks tumble freely down her back. They had stopped moving again, only a few blocks from the Hughes' home, not that Riza had noticed their proximity to their destination. She was wholly focused on the man before her as he kept his gaze fixed on her. His hand came up and tangled in her long hair and he murmured something under his breath about it.

Riza was about to ask him what he had said, but was stopped by the sounds of singing and footfalls quickly approaching. Turning to look, a little blonde bundle of energy was approaching the pair of them, skipping happily and singing loudly. "Aunt Riza!" Elysia called out as she drew near, jumping up at the woman with her arms out.

Startled, Riza managed to catch her goddaughter nonetheless, swinging the child up onto her hip to brace her weight. Looking over, she saw Roy sigh and squeeze the bridge of his nose between his fingers in frustration. Yet another moment of… something… had been effectively ruined. Accepting that nothing could be done about it now, Riza redirected her attention to the young girl already chattering at her as she locked her arms around the Riza's neck, holding herself close.

"Have you been a good girl since I saw you last, Elysia?" Riza asked, waiting for Roy to start walking before they continued on their way. As Elysia gave her affirmative and began telling Riza about the many things she had done since she'd seen her last, Riza couldn't help but smile and laugh at the stories. They continued on toward the house together, gaily conversing while Roy followed a few steps behind. Once they neared the neatly fenced-in yard, she glanced back at Roy, seeing that he was still watching her, his look of frustrated tension having been replaced by a smile.

Something about the sight of his best friend's daughter clutching to Riza as she told the quiet woman about her day warmed Roy's heart, yet made it ache for a number of reasons. Elysia, so very much like Maes, was thriving and happy and managed to bring a smile to Riza's face when so little could make her crack her stoic exterior adopted from years of military service. Riza, stunningly beautiful with her hair flowing behind her, was radiant as she laughed with the small child, her manner maternal and open as she held the young girl and spoke with her in light tones. The picture they made filled him with a sudden strong longing for his own child, their own child; to have, to hold, to love as she was with Elysia. Often had his mind spun images of them sharing a future together, but not until now had he felt such a poignant need for them to build a family, to make a home for themselves filled with children and love.

Seeing Riza had turned her gaze back at him, he smiled at her and took a few extra steps to catch up to the two women, cradling Riza's shoulders in his arm as he draped his hand on her far shoulder. Effortlessly, he joined in on the conversation with Elysia about the kitty that she and her mother had taken in while looking for its owners a few weeks back. Leaning ever so slightly, Riza allowed her shoulder to rest against Roy as his arm supported her back, the trio making their way across the walkway up to their front door just as Elysia began telling them about how she came to meet them on their way there because she was so excited to have so many people over for dinner.

As Riza let the little girl down on the front porch, Elysia ran in the door, crying "Mummy!" as she bounded to her mother's side and hugged her around the waist. Slowly rising from her squatted position, Riza felt the arm that had released her moments ago reclaim its position, followed by the press of lips against her temple. Closing her eyes, she settled against Roy for a moment, enjoying the warmth of his partial embrace before they went to close the front door, eager to greet Gracia as she was piling dinner onto the table.

* * *

_Ok, Here it is. I'm not 100 percent pleased with it, but I moved them from place to place like I wanted to and it had just enough "d'aw" moments in it to satisfy my tastes. I spent all day working on this when I should have been packing, as I move back up to college on Wednesday; so packing, coupled with working the Orientation program up there from Thursday to the next Thursday will slow me down a lot until I'm done with my Freshies, meaning that the next update will be slow in coming again, Sorry. The more I write it, the more and more I become in love with the idea of Havoc being a platonic-love friend with Riza, so his presence will be sticking around as Riza's "best friend" sort of brotherly figure._  



	11. Chapter 11

_In no way, shape or form do I take credit for creation or ownership of the Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) series. The original manga is the property of Hiromu Arakawa and the anime is the property of Bones animation studio._

* * *

Dinner began as quite a lively affair, the conversation plentiful and pleasant as Elysia gleefully prattled on when Riza and Gracia weren't catching up with one another, leaving Roy content to add a few remarks here and there. For the most part, he kept watching Riza as she ate, noticing that even in the comfortable atmosphere of the Hughes residence, she sat up straight and took small bites, waiting until she was finished before speaking and never interrupting the mile-a-minute expositions that Elysia was availing them all with, preferring to add commentary when necessary and to wait for her to become interested in her food once again before speaking at length. 

Also, her hair had led him to distraction yet again as he was unable to keep all of his attention away from the blonde locks as they hung behind her, brushing forward in front of her shoulders when she made certain movements. Excepting his weeks of recovery, he had rarely seen her with her hair down; Riza opted to keep it cropped short during both their childhood and her early years in the service, then kept it tightly controlled once she had finished growing it out. It was really a shame, he mused as he watched the tips bob as she nodded an affirmative to a question from Gracia, because her hair was quite beautiful and she looked amazing with it down. He'd had to restrain himself more than once from reaching his hand over and running her fingers through it again as he had done earlier, so eager was he to play with the long silken strands once more. He could only imagine it spread about her head like a sort of surreal halo as she slumbered, flowing over her pillow and the sheets as she slept and as she…

Remembering that there was a child in the room, Roy forced his mind to focus back on the conversation, in order to deter himself from going down that line of thought. With Elysia becoming as inquisitive as her father, one could never be sure just what strange behaviors she might notice and ask about, regardless of the embarrassing situation that may result. Nonetheless, just moments before he succeeded in fully redirecting his mind, Riza and Gracia both turned their attention on him, concern and interest written on Riza's features.

"Are you alright? You've been silent for a long time now. Is anything wrong?" Gracia asked maternally before Riza could speak. "You're flushed, Roy, are you feeling okay?"

Roy waved her down, motioning for her not to get up. "I'm fine," he supplied, the mild blush that came from being caught with his mind wandering, even if they didn't know what he was thinking about, burning his cheeks. "I just… I was a little out of it; my mind started to wander. I guess I had a longer day than I had thought," he supplied, smiling weakly until the pair of women accepted the answer, hoping silently for Elysia to distract attention away from him once more.

His savior answered his prayers as she launched into a story about some of the children that she went to school with that had come down with fevers, only to later break out with colds or itchy spots, causing her to tell him to take care of himself. Left to himself and his thoughts once again, Roy returned to studying the woman seated beside him, trying to be a little more discreet this time around. He found it a little curious that after so long, he was just now starting to have such strong physical reactions to Riza, having gone years upon years being able to remain perfectly calm in her presence, despite the growing attachment he had felt to her. He had always prided himself on keeping his cool, it was one of his many traits that had made so many women flock after him with desire, and it had allowed him years of freedom of hiding the emotions he felt for Riza, protecting both her and their careers. It made him feel all the more awkward that after being separated from her for so long, he was reacting to her despite his efforts to remain calm. He was unused to physically desiring someone so strongly, especially after having first become emotionally intertwined, making the current situation arising between him and Riza even more thrilling, more wonderfully confusing to wade through. Long had Riza been irreplaceable in his heart, but now she was bringing forth primal urges in him that he'd been able to keep at bay in addition to having his sweet daydreams of years past, making him feel like a young man again, wistful and dreaming of the future and, to be frank, easily excitable as could be.

Once more, his mind was getting away from him, as he had moved on to studying the skin of her neck that peeked out of her high-collared shirt, the flesh there milky and pale like her face and hands. Idly, he wondered how she stayed so fair when he knew she spent time outdoors, but attributed it to her genes keeping her from tanning much, similar to how he would only darken a little after hours outside thanks to his mother. Moving once again down the distracted trails of thought that he knew would get him into trouble, he wondered what it would be like to kiss her along her neck and near her collarbone.

Wickedly, he realized that any marks he would leave would be covered during the day, as she always wore one of those dark high-necks beneath her uniform unless they were in their dress uniforms, meaning that he could technically leave as many marks as he wanted without getting caught. The thought was exciting and left him pausing, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as he tried to stop lusting after her like a teenager once more.

Bringing a hand up to rub his temple, Roy fought the urge to groan as he adjusted his position in his seat. Honestly, if Riza knew what he was thinking about this whole time at dinner, instead of listening to Elysia, she would probably kill him. Pitifully, he argued to himself that it wasn't his fault, that he could normally control himself and his thoughts quite easily when he wanted; it was just that Riza had something about her that made him lose focus. He'd honestly never been this bad about daydreaming about anyone or anything, and as pleasant as the thoughts he kept having were, they were bound to get him into trouble in the present company.

Vowing to himself that he was going to behave for the rest of dinner even if it killed him, Roy focused his attention on his food, turning his head just such that he could no longer see Riza out of the corner of his eye, effectively removing his distraction, for now. Looking up, he saw Elysia chatting animatedly with her mother, the words flowing over him without registering as he watched her.

She'd grown so much since he'd seen her last, becoming ever more vocal like Maes with the passing of time. The sorrow that had masked her face as she cried into Gracia's lap at her father's funeral was long-gone, her father's missing presence less a hole in her life than it was to those around her who keenly felt his absence after years of being at the mercy of his antics. She was thriving under her mother's care, and as happy as he was to see her so joyous, part of him was pained to know that she would no longer feel the warmth of her father's arms as he held her nor hear the timbre of his voice as he chatted with her about any and everything under the sun. She was too young to really remember what she had lost, not in the same fashion that her mother and he could feel the void left where his best friend had once filled their lives with love and laughter.

Depressing himself as he was, it took him a few moments before he realized that Elysia was talking to him, standing at his side and tapping him on the shoulder. Blinking a few times, he turned to look at her after casting glances at Gracia and Riza. "What is it?" he asked, his voice coming out in a croak for some reason.

Elysia frowned up at him. "You're crying, Uncle Roy. What's wrong?"

Startled by her words, Roy finally noticed when he went to touch his face that he'd left his hand hovering above his plate, fork still in hand for probably quite a while. Setting the utensil down, he brushed his fingers over his cheek and realized that she was right. While certainly not a lot, he had unknowingly shed a few tears during his agonizing musings about his deceased friend. "Nothing's wrong, Elysia," he said as the little girl crawled up into his lap, twining her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"Do you miss Daddy?" she asked suddenly, looking up at him with luminous, curious eyes. "Whenever Mommy's sad, it's because she misses Daddy."

Letting his arms rest around Elysia, Roy held his goddaughter close, smiling despite the sorrow that still lingered in his thoughts. "You're right, I do miss your Daddy," he said softly.

Pulling back, Elysia looked at him very seriously before speaking. "Well, it's okay to miss Daddy, but you shouldn't let it make you sad, because that will make Daddy sad too and he doesn't like being sad."

Chuckling, Roy couldn't help but smile a bit at Elysia's logic, wonderfully wise in its childlike simplicity. With one final stern look, Elysia extracted herself from Roy's arms and returned to her seat, unfazed in the least by the last five minutes' events. After a few moments, the feel of Gracia and Riza staring at him became too oppressive and Roy excused himself, not meeting their eyes as he left the table and made his way to the bathroom. Kicking the door mostly shut behind him, Roy leaned over the countertop, his hands braced against the cool surface as he propped himself up. After he caught his breath a bit and calmed down, he carefully removed his eye patch and went about cleaning his damp face.

Catching cool water from the faucet in his hands, Roy splashed himself, rinsing the tear streaks from his face before scrubbing his hands across his face tiredly. He knew Maes would kick his ass if he knew that he was still this easily upset by his death over two years after it happened, but that didn't make in any easier to move on from it. It didn't make him any less frustrated that there was nothing he could do back then, didn't bring back a father for little Elysia. Looking up, he stared at his own reflection in the mirror, a broken eye and an empty, haunted one staring back at him in the glass. Yes, since his return to Central he was mostly back to who he once was, full of pride in himself and his people, but the underlying doubt that has started festering on the night the homunculi took away his best friend had remained, weighing him down even now. In a moment of blind rage and anger, he tightly balled on of his fists as his side and let it fly at the mirror before him.

The wonderful, liberating pain never came though, as strong but gentle hands caught his arm when he hauled it back to punch. Whipping around, he saw Riza had entered the small bathroom and now held his arm in a tight grip, her fingers digging into his arm as she glared at him. She was about to say something to him, but he cut her off. "I failed… then, now. I failed Elysia, Gracia… I failed Maes… I even failed you. I fell apart back then and I ran like a coward after we fought the homunculi, instead of fighting the transfer from Central… I-"

His self-pitying words were cut off by a sharp crack as Riza's hand contacted with the side of his face in a fierce slap. She was still glaring at him when he looked at her face in shock, but her eyes were beaded with tears at the corners. "Dammit, Taisa… Roy, you didn't fail me then, you're failing me now by shutting down again over all this!"

He was about to contest her words, but she continued, her hands moving to grip the sides of his head and bring their faces close together. "I told you before, and I'll keep saying it until you finally listen. There was nothing that could be done for him, so stop punishing yourself for that. You wouldn't have been able to change things, You would have just been killed too." She hissed at him angrily. Startling him, she yanked him down the last few inches between them, her lips sealing over his for a few seconds before she yanked him back, glaring into his eyes once more though her tone had softened as she spoke again. "I told you, you're here now and that's all that matters. We're together. Stop living in the past, Roy."

A soft knock at the door frame alerted the pair to their audience as Gracia made her presence known. "Roy, Riza, are you both alright?" She asked, looking pointedly at the pair of them.

Bringing his hands up, Roy wrapped his fingers lightly around Riza's wrists and squeezed them ever so softly. "I will be," he said with conviction, meeting Riza's firm gaze before looking up to Gracia and smiling at her.

"Come on, Uncle Roy," Elysia called as she appeared from down the hallway. "We still have to finish dessert." The adults laughed a bit at the break in the serious atmosphere as she looked pleadingly up at them before tugging on her mother's hand to bring her back to the dinner table.

"You all start without me, I've just got to finish cleaning up here," Roy said as he and Riza released their holds on one another. She looked at him curiously, but he smiled, feeling a bit more ready to face things than before.

As the women exited the bathroom, Roy splashed his face again with more cold water and toweled himself off before meeting his gaze one final time in the mirror. "I'm going to become the man you died trying to help," Roy said calmly, serenely, "I'm going to be the kind of man who deserves Riza and her loyalty... and the chance to be with her. I'm not going to let myself screw things up anymore." With one final nod to his image in the mirror, Roy reattached his eye patch and exited the room, his head held high and his confidence nearing what it once was.

* * *

_Again, not really terribly pleased with this, but it's taken me forever and a day to get anything done, so I'm just gonig to stop messing with this and accept that Roy turned into a big ball of Emo and teenage hormones for a chapter. Things this semester at college are so busy, it's near impossible to find time to write, so updates are going to slow down, thought hopefully nowhere as bad as this one took. I can't make any promises, but I'm working on things when I can. **-K**  
_


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